Canon Inc. is a Japanese multinational corporation that specialises in the manufacture of imaging and optical products, including cameras, camcorders,photocopiers, steppers and computer printers. Its headquarters are located in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan.The company was originally named Kwanon by Goro Yoshida after the Buddhist bodhisattva Guan Yin, known in Japanese as Kannon. In 1934 it produced a prototype for Japan’s first-ever 35 mm camera with a focal plane shutter. In 1947 the company name was changed to Canon.Precision Optical Instruments Laboratory is the predecessor of Canon Inc. and was founded in Tokyo in 1937 by Takeshi Mitarai, Goro Yoshida, Saburo Uchida and Takeo Maeda.Canon is a manufacturer of business and consumer imaging products which includes printers, scanners, binoculars, compact digital cameras, film SLR and digital SLR cameras, lenses and video camcorders.The Business Solutions division offers print and document solutions for small and medium businesses, large corporations and governments. These include multi-functional printers, black and white and color office printers, large format printers, scanners, black and white and color production printers, as well as software to support these products.Lesser known Canon products include medical, optical and broadcast products, including ophthalmic and x-ray devices, broadcast lenses, semiconductors, digital microfilm scanners, and Handy Terminal Solutions.Canon has regional headquarters in the Americas, Europe, Middle East, Africa, Japan, Asia and Oceania (including Australia & New Zealand) . Canon in Europe is split into Canon Europa NV (based in the Netherlands) and Canon Europe Ltd (based in London). Both make up the European headquarters for Canon.
Net income ¥ 248.630 billion (2011)
Total assets ¥ 3.930 trillion (2011)