Emperor Hirohito, known posthumously as Emperor Showa, wanted to express his regret and remorse over World War II in 1952 but was stopped from doing so by the prime minister at the time, newly disclosed documents showed Monday.

The records detailing exchanges between the emperor and Michiji Tajima, the first grand steward of the Imperial Household Agency, provide further evidence to support the view that the emperor may have sought to apologize over the war.

The documents, disclosed by public broadcaster NHK, which obtained 18 notebooks from Tajima's family, showed the emperor saying on Jan. 11, 1952, "I just think I really need to include the word remorse" in a speech during a ceremony in May that year to mark Japan's regaining of independence.