Canon

Canon Inc.

Canon Inc. is a Japanese company whose businesses span office and production printing, cameras and lenses, medical imaging systems, network video surveillance, and semiconductor and display manufacturing equipment. It traces its origins to the Precision Optical Instruments Laboratory, founded in Roppongi, Tokyo, in 1933 to develop cameras. Precision Optical Industry, Co., Ltd. was incorporated in 1937, became Canon Camera Co., Inc. in 1947 and took the name Canon Inc. in 1969.

Its group companies include Canon Medical Systems (formerly Toshiba Medical Systems, acquired in 2016), the network camera maker Axis Communications (2015), the video management software developer Milestone Systems (2014) and Canon Production Printing (formerly Océ).

Canon built its first camera, the Kwanon, as a prototype in 1934 and introduced the Hansa Canon in 1936. It launched the EOS autofocus SLR system with EF lenses in 1987 and the EOS 5D Mark II, a full-frame SLR that recorded Full HD video, in 2008. Canon entered motion picture production with the Cinema EOS System of cameras and lenses in 2011, and introduced the EOS R system and RF mount in 2018. Its K-35 cinema lenses received an Academy Award in 1977.

Founded
1937, Tokyo, Japan
Headquarters
  • Shimomaruko, Ōta, Tokyo, Japan — Global, Canon Inc.
  • Melville, New York, United States — Americas, Canon U.S.A., Inc.
  • Amstelveen, Netherlands — Europe, Canon Europa N.V.
  • Uxbridge, United Kingdom — Europe — Regional, Canon Europe Ltd.
Parent Company
NonePublicly traded (Tokyo Stock Exchange: 7751)
Subsidiaries
  • Canon Medical Systems Corporation — Medical imaging systems (formerly Toshiba Medical Systems)
  • Axis Communications AB — Network video cameras and surveillance
  • Milestone Systems A/S — Video management software
  • Canon Production Printing — Production printing systems (formerly Océ)
Sources · researched Oct 4, 2026
  1. Canon — Corporate Profile: Basic Information
  2. The History of Canon 1933–1961
  3. The History of Canon 1962–1975
  4. The History of Canon 1976–1987
  5. The History of Canon 2006–2015
  6. The History of Canon 2016–
  7. Canon — Locations
  8. Canon — Group Directory
  9. Canon Form 6-K (Feb 2023): delisting of ADRs from the NYSE
  10. Canon Inc. — Wikipedia
  11. Canon logo — Wikimedia Commons
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