Four Afghan men, whose applications for refugee status were rejected by the Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau in November, filed a case against the decision with the Tokyo District Court on Wednesday, their lawyers said.
The men asked the court to repeal the decision and suspend a Justice Ministry deportation order.
The four men are being detained at a bureau detention center in Ushiku, Ibaraki Prefecture. They were arrested Oct. 3 along with five other Afghan men for illegal entry.
Although a Nov. 6 ruling by the Tokyo District Court freed the five other Afghans from detention, the ministry denied them refugee status.
The nine, who belong to minority ethnic groups persecuted by Afghanistan's embattled Taliban militia, arrived in Japan between June and August.