The memoir of a former Japanese official shows that Japan created an official term for “annexation” before it colonized Korea a century ago in order to conceal its intent to take control of the Korean Peninsula.

South Korean scholar Choe Suh-myun on Tuesday disclosed a copy of the memoir “An Account of the Annexation of Korea” by Tetsukichi Kurachi, a former secretary at the Foreign Ministry.

According to the memoir, then-Foreign Minister Jutaro Komura tried to find a proper Japanese word other than those meaning "merger" or "amalgamation" to define Japan’s takeover of Korea and finally settled on “heigo,” which means “annexation.”

The memoir also shows that Japan made sure Korean independence fighter Ahn Jung-geun was tried in China after assassinating Hirobumi Ito in order to increase the likelihood Ahn would receive the death penalty.