The Immigration Bureau plans to deport four of nine Afghan men whose applications for refugee status were rejected Monday on the grounds they "lack credibility as refugees," Justice Ministry sources said Tuesday.

The four men will be deported to Afghanistan, but an immigration official said, "We will deport them after the situation has settled there," referring to the U.S.-led military operations against suspected terrorist forces.

Earlier in the day, Justice Minister Mayumi Moriyama defended the Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau's decision to reject the nine Afghan men, saying they entered Japan "presumably solely for the purpose of finding work . . . not to seek protection."

Moriyama also said there was little evidence to support claims they would be persecuted if they were sent home.

"Upon listening to each man's circumstances, I learned that some had been traveling back and forth to Afghanistan very often and I really find that rather strange," Moriyama told reporters after a Cabinet meeting.

The four Afghans, along with the five others, were detained Oct. 3 on suspicion of illegal entry.

The Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau rejected the applications for refugee status because they "lack credibility as refugees as some left the country for the purpose of working."

The Tokyo immigration bureau immediately conveyed the decision to four of the nine men Monday and will ask the five others, who were released from detention earlier this month, to visit the bureau in person for notification.

On Nov. 6, the Tokyo District Court approved a plea by the five other Afghans asking that their detention by immigration authorities be stopped. A different judge at the same court, however, rejected a similar request by the four others the day before.

On Monday, the Tokyo High Court rejected an appeal by the four Afghans against the lower court's earlier decision.

They will be detained in Ibaraki Prefecture until they are deported to Afghanistan.

On Monday, their lawyers said they will seek a re-examination of the applications or ask a court to rescind the Tokyo bureau's decision.

The nine, who belong to minority ethnic groups allegedly persecuted by the Taliban militia, arrived in Japan between June and August.