Coming this Spring 2026 – a new public-facing name for the Japanese Fishermen’s Benevolent Society Building, located adjacent to the Steveston Museum in the middle of the historic fishing village of Steveston.
Currently, the front of the building is blank, leaving passersby to wonder what’s inside.
In 2025, the City of Richmond engaged with members of the Japanese Canadian community to select a name to make the building more readily identifiable to visitors: Steveston Japanese Canadian Museum.
The original building was constructed in 1900, and housed the administration and doctor’s offices for the Japanese Fishermen’s Benevolent Society. It was part of a complex of Japanese Canadian buildings once located off No. 1 Road and Chatham Street in Steveston (current location of The Maples Seniors Residence).
The City of Richmond moved the building to its current location behind the Steveston Museum and Post Office in 2010, and opened to the public in 2015 with museum exhibits sharing the history of Steveston’s Japanese Canadian community.
Today, thousands of visitors come to the museum to learn about the history and contributions by Japanese Canadians to the community. The museum is open Mondays to Saturdays 9:30am to 5pm, and Sundays from 12 to 4pm (closed on statutory holidays). Visitors may enter through the Steveston Museum and Post Office at 3811 Moncton Street. Admission is free.
