TOKYO—The late Emperor Hirohito privately expressed regret about atrocities committed by Japanese troops in the Chinese city of Nanjing in 1937, saying he hadn't fully known what the army was doing but wished he could have stopped it, according to newly released records.
Notes of Hirohito's remarks in the early years after World War II show the emperor mostly blamed the war on military officers he believed drove Japan into a conflict it couldn't win. But the documents also show the emperor felt pained about his own role and tried unsuccessfully to give a public speech in 1952 laying out his remorse. The notes, taken by former Imperial Household Agency chief Michiji Tajima, were released Monday by public broadcaster NHK, which aired a documentary on the subject Saturday.
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