An image processing apparatus of an embodiment includes an image processing unit to convert a color image to a monochrome image. The color image comprises pixels with a plurality of color components. The image processing unit is configured to generate a histogram from the monochrome image showing a color intensity gradation in the monochrome image by pixel frequency. A processor is configured to obtain a first threshold value based on the histogram, determine for each color component of each pixel in the color image whether or not each color component of the pixel is light based on the first threshold value, and generate a corrected color image by removing a background coloring from the color image by correcting each pixel for which all the color components are determined to be light.