Following 24 years of research, the Imperial Household Agency said it has completed a 12,000-page day-by-day account of Emperor Hirohito's life, which will be published next year.

The project was initially scheduled for completion eight years ago but saw delays as the agency's officials spoke with the emperor's many former aides and went through diaries kept by chamberlains. They also made overseas trips to collect related documents about the monarch, known posthumously as Emperor Showa, according to an agency spokesman.

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