As reported by Canadian news outlet The Georgia Straight on June 25, Robert Tadashi Banno died on June 16 at the age of 77. He was the founding president of the Burnaby, British Columbia-based nonprofit Nikkei National Museum and Cultural Centre, and the Nikkei Place Foundation. Banno led the merger of the National Nikkei Heritage Centre Society and the Japanese Canadian National Museum, and helped establish the Nikkei Place Foundation to fundraise for the cultural center and museum. 

He was recognized with a number of accolades. In 2013, he was appointed Queen’s Counsel and was awarded the Japanese Foreign Minister’s Commendation and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for his contributions to the Japanese–Canadian community. In 2016, he received the prestigious Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays.