A Tokyo man filed a lawsuit Thursday against Japan Post over what he says is its refusal to issue customized stamps featuring islets claimed by both Japan and South Korea.

Teruo Tonooka, 69, asked the Tokyo District Court to nullify Japan Post's decision to reject his application for 100,000 stamps featuring the group of islets, called Takeshima by Japan and Tok-do by South Korea, claiming the refusal was illegal.

Japan Post "failed to respond by the deadline I had set. I regarded it as a rejection," Tonooka said.

Tonooka ordered the stamps in February at a Tokyo post office. He wanted images of the islets and text about them printed on the stamps.

A Japan Post employee declined comment on the suit.