IKEA has yet to stop global sales of a controversial map that uses the Japan-insisted place name to denote the body of water between South Korea and Japan, its web site showed Wednesday, after previous furor pushed the Swedish furniture giant to announce plans to drop the product.

Under public pressure, the furniture brand in December said it would remove the disputed item in 2015 in efforts to allay anger over the historically and emotionally sensitive issue before the opening of its first showroom in South Korea. Anti-Japanese sentiment is still strong in the country, a legacy of Japan's harsh colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula from 1910-45.

The gigantic map, which measures 2 meters in width, had sparked a wave of anger to the extent of a proposed consumer boycott for not using the name "East Sea" or "Sea of Korea," as practiced by South Korea. Japan insists on the name "Sea of Japan."

Some foreign governments and international organizations avoid the controversy by using both names proposed by the two countries to mark the area.

IKEA's web site, however, showed that the PREMIAR wall decoration is still available in 26 of some 40 countries it operates in such as Canada and Ireland.

A media official at the South Korean unit of IKEA said the announcement made in December is still valid.

"Our global policy to stop selling the map is still intact. But schedules may vary by country," said Kim Ji-hoon, commercial PR and media manager at IKEA Korea.

Kim, however, declined to identify the details of the schedule and the number of countries where the announcement has gone into effect.

The furniture giant, which opened its first showroom near Seoul on Dec. 18, has weathered a rocky market debut as enraged consumers also raised complaints about unfair pricing policies.

They claimed that some popular products were priced higher in South Korea compared to other countries. (Yonhap)