South Korea's subway system said on Thursday it had removed advertisements for Japanese condoms from its carriages amid growing public anger over Tokyo's renewed claims to disputed islands.

About 200 ads for Okamoto condoms were removed from carriages in Seoul on Tuesday, only five days after being posted, said Seoul Metro.

They were originally scheduled to be displayed for one month.

"There were public complaints about promoting Japanese condoms and we immediately took action," Seoul Metro spokesperson Kim Jeong-Hwan told AFP.

"If the territorial dispute with Japan over Dokdo had not flared up again, such complaints would not have been lodged with us."

The advertisements did not depict condoms but contained the phrase "No. 1 in Japan".

South Korea and Japan are again in dispute over islands in the Sea of Japan (East Sea) known as Takeshima in Japan and Dokdo in Korea.

The latest row was sparked by Japanese educational guidelines reaffirming Tokyo's claim to the Seoul-controlled islands.

Angry South Koreans on Wednesday hurled rotten eggs and tomatoes at the Japanese embassy in protest. Seoul has recalled its ambassador from Tokyo.

AFP