Hajime Mitarai; President of Canon

Hajime Mitarai, 56, son of the founder and current president of Canon Inc. Known for his contributions to the bubble jet printer, Mitarai was educated at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University. He worked as an engineer at Corning Glass Works of New York from 1966 to 1972. The eldest son of company founder Takeshi Mitarai, the younger Mitarai joined Canon in 1974 and was named president in 1993. He expanded the company’s product development according to a philosophy that emphasized increasing its home-grown technology. The company makes printers, copying machines, computer accessories and cameras. Mitarai received a prize in 1994 from the Japan Institute for Innovation and Invention. He was a director of the Japan Electronic Industry Development Assn. and the Communications Industry Assn. of Japan. On Wednesday in Tokyo of pneumonia.