Founder Profile
Takeshi Mitarai
Last reviewed: October 2026 · By Swet Parvadiya
Who is Takeshi Mitarai?
Takeshi Mitarai is a founder of Canon Inc., which was founded in 1937 with Goro Yoshida, Saburo Uchida and Takeo Maeda.
- Company founded
- Canon Inc.
- Founded
- 1937
- Co-founders
- Goro Yoshida, Saburo Uchida and Takeo Maeda
Background
Takeshi Mitarai (1901-1984) was an obstetrician by training and an early backer of the Precision Optical Instruments Laboratory rather than one of its engineers.
Founding Story
Takeshi Mitarai supported the camera laboratory that Goro Yoshida, Saburo Uchida and Takeo Maeda opened in 1933, and became president of its successor, Precision Optical Industry, Co., Ltd., in 1942. After the war he restarted camera production; the company became Canon Camera Co. in 1947, listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 1949, and opened a New York branch in 1955 and Canon Europa in Geneva in 1957. He led Canon as president until 1974. His nephew Fujio Mitarai joined the company in 1961 and is its Chairman and CEO today.