A Japanese journalist known for covering war zones has sued the Foreign Ministry after it invalidated his passport and demanded he surrender it, saying it deprives him of his right to travel and interferes with press freedom.

Kosuke Tuneoka was stopped at Tokyo's Haneda airport in February on his way to Yemen for reporting. He was told his passport had been invalidated and then received a ministry order to immediately surrender it.

Tsuneoka says he filed a lawsuit to stop the government from taking similar steps against others.

Tsuneoka was held captive for five months in Afghanistan in 2010.

A Syria-bound Japanese photographer had his passport taken in 2015 to prevent him from traveling there.