Logan Paul, a huge internet personality

An American YouTube star says he does not expect to be forgiven after he posted a video which showed the body of an apparent suicide victim in Japan.

It prompted a barrage of criticism online with some comments calling it "disrespectful" and "disgusting".

Paul took down the video and later apologised saying he was "misguided".

"I have made a severe and continuous lapse in my judgement, and I don't expect to be forgiven".

"I should have never posted the video. I should have put the cameras down and stopped recording what we were going through. There's a lot of things I should have done differently, but I didn't", he said.

"I'm ashamed of myself," he added. "I'm disappointed in myself."

The video was uploaded on Sunday and had millions of views on YouTube before it was taken down.

Logan Paul, a huge internet personality, has more than 15 million subscribers on the website and a loyal fanbase of mainly tweens and teenagers.

Data on the number of suicides there each year is not made public, to avoid publicising the site. Signs are posted in the forest urging people to seek medical help rather than take their lives.

The 15-minute video is part of a series of posts from Japan where the US vlogger is on a trip with friends.

They go on a visit to the forest intending to focus on the "haunted" aspect of it, he says in the video. After walking a short distance into the forest, the group come across a body.

Paul is visibly shocked by the discovery but also makes jokes.

The group is filmed approaching the body, which is shown in several close-ups where only the face is blurred out.

A member of the group is heard off camera saying he "doesn't feel good". Paul then asks him: "What, you never stand next to a dead guy?" He then laughs.

Online comments have widely accused Paul of acting inappropriately and being disrespectful. A petition calling for his entire channel to be removed from YouTube has more than 45,000 signatures.