A Japanese daily says a diplomatic letter written by Japanese colonial ruler Hirobumi Ito has been found.

The Asahi Shimbun says that in the letter to the Tokyo government, the then Japanese envoy Ito expressed his will to become the first colonial ruler of Korea.

Asahi explained that Ito appeared to be aware of strong Korean resistance to Japanese rule and that he thought it would be better that he govern Korea rather than a diplomat.

The handwritten letter was recently donated to Kyushu University.