TOKYO • Japan has lodged a protest with the Chinese government after Japanese retail chain Muji was forced to remove from its mainland stores a catalogue which left out disputed islands claimed by both countries.

"There is no territorial dispute to be settled over the Senkaku Islands. We can by no means accept the measure based on China's unilateral claims," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a press conference yesterday, referring to the Japanese-controlled islands in the East China Sea.

China's official Xinhua news agency reported on Tuesday that Beijing took exception to a map in Muji's furniture catalogue for autumn and winter 2017.

The catalogue was distributed in China by Muji stores, operated by Ryohin Keikaku in Tokyo.

The Senkaku Islands, a group of five uninhabited islets in the East China Sea, are administered by Japan but claimed by China, which calls them the Diaoyu Islands.

Mr Suga said Japan lodged a protest with Beijing through a diplomatic channel on Tuesday. He added China's move could have a negative impact on the business activities of Japanese companies, reported Kyodo news agency.

China's National Administration of Surveying, Mapping and Geoinformation told Ryohin Keikaku in October that its map in the catalogues did not show the Senkaku or Diaoyu islands or other islands claimed by Beijing in the South China Sea.

Beijing also took issue with Hainan island being shown in a different colour from the rest of China on the map.

Chinese President Xi Jinping launched a campaign to crack down on "problematic maps" last August in a sign of Beijing's hardline stance on territorial issues.

Beijing has recently accused a number of foreign firms ranging from the world's biggest hotel chain Marriott to Spanish fashion label Zara for listing Tibet, Taiwan and Hong Kong as countries.

On Jan 12, the Civil Aviation Administration of China said it had asked Delta Air Lines to investigate why Taiwan and Tibet were listed as countries on its website.

The authority also said it would require all foreign airlines operating routes to China to conduct comprehensive investigations of their websites, apps and customer-related information and "strictly comply with China's laws and regulations".