Nine people whose fathers are Japanese who married Filipino women before and during World War II arrived Wednesday in Tokyo to try their luck at acquiring Japanese citizenship.

Their five-day visit includes appearances at the Tokyo Family Court for interviews by judges on their formal petition, said Yuka Kanamaru, officer in charge of the Philippine Nikkei-Jin Legal Support Center, a nonprofit organization that has been helping Filipino-Japanese get Japanese citizenship since 2006.

The center identified the nine as Saide Takihara, 72, Francisca Tapales, 81, Oligario Nagata, 67, all from Davao in Mindanao; Antonio Takara, 68, from Baguio City; Jovani Kiyama, 67, from Iloilo; Jovita Santos, 67, from Manila; Inia Blah, 79, from Sarangani; Hibico Ancheta, 68, from Ilocos province; and Rogelio Kimura, 69, from Nueva Ecija province.