Takeshi Mitarai
Profile
Performance in office
Tenure
Tenure
Background
In November 1933 the Precision Optical Industry Laboratory was founded in Roppongi, Azabu, Tokyo. It set out to research and build high-grade precision 35mm cameras and brought a product to market in 1935. The original name "Kwanon" was changed to "Canon," meaning scripture, criterion or standard. In August 1937 the company was established in Meguro, Tokyo, as Precision Optical Industry Co., Ltd. with capital of ¥1 million, and Takeshi Mitarai became President in September 1942.
Selection
As the first President, he had no predecessor. He became President in September 1942; by then the company had been making its own lenses since 1939 and had moved into medical equipment by completing Japan's first indirect X-ray camera, the X-ray Canon. It resumed production in October 1945, the month after Japan's defeat, and the Canon S model of 1946 was well received by occupation troops and visiting foreign buyers, which first made the company's name known abroad.
Initiatives
In September 1947 the company changed its name to Canon Camera Co., Inc. and in May 1949 listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. In 1951 it signed a sole overseas export agency agreement with the British trading house Jardine Matheson, and in November of that year consolidated its headquarters and factory in Shimomaruko, Ota Ward, Tokyo. With a New York branch in October 1955 and the European sole agent Canon Europe S.A. in September 1957, it secured sales channels in North America and Europe. It entered office equipment with an electronic desktop calculator in October 1964, moved into plain-paper copiers with the NP System in 1968 and changed its name to Canon Inc. in March 1969.
Career
Career
Canon
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| 1937 | Founded Seiki Optical Industries |
| Sep 1942 | President |
| Aug 1974 | Representative Director, Chairman |
| Aug 1974 | Stepped down as President |