Shizuo Takano, 68, a former electronics company executive who led the development of VHS videocassette recorders, died yesterday in Tokyo of a respiratory ailment, the Victor Company of Japan announced. A former JVC vice president, Mr. Takano had predicted in 1970 that there would be strong demand for home videotape recorders. As chief of JVC's video products division, he began development of a system that would be smaller and easier to operate than the bulky professional machines then in use. The VHS videocassette system, first marketed in October 1976, became a highly profitable product for Japan's electronics industry. Mr. Takano also was active in urging other electronics companies to adopt the VHS standard instead of a competing Betamax video system developed by Sony. After years of competition, VHS became standard in many parts of the world.