"Japanese authorities have detained a Turkish Kurd recognized as a refugee by the United Nations, saying a Tokyo court overruled his petition to block deportation, officials said Tuesday. The unidentified man was taken into custody by the Tokyo Immigration Bureau on Monday, bureau spokesman Shoichiro Okabe said. The move follows the forced expulsion last month of two Turkish Kurds also recognized as refugees by the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.

The deportations drew accusations from the world body that Japan is not meeting its obligations under international law.

The Tokyo office of the UNHCR said they were aware of the latest case.

"We are in discussions with the Justice Ministry about the matter," spokeswoman Rika Hakozaki said.

Officials refused to disclose details about the man.

The Nihon Keizai business newspaper reported he was in his 40s and that immigration officials were examining the possibility of deporting him to a third country.

Turkey fought a 15-year war with separatist Kurdish guerrillas that killed 37,000 people, mostly Kurds. About 20 percent of Turkey's 68 million people are Kurds, who are not recognized as a minority by the government, and many abroad fear persecution if they return.

Japan has often been criticized for its reluctance to shelter refugees. The nation has accepted about 300 _ 14 percent of applicants _ since it introduced a U.N. refugee program in 1982.

The Jan. 18 deportation of Ahmet Kazankiran, 48, and his 21-year-old son, Ramazan, to Turkey forcibly separated the two men from their family, who have so far been allowed to remain in Japan.

The Kazankiran family _ Ahmet, his wife Safiye, their two sons and three daughters _ were recognized by the UNHCR as refugees in October 2004.

Japanese courts repeatedly rejected their applications for refugee status, ruling they did not qualify because they failed to present sufficient evidence that they would be persecuted if they returned to Turkey.

The U.N. protocol defines a refugee as a person with a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, nationality or personal beliefs. It prohibits signatory nations from expelling or forcibly returning a refugee to a place where their life or freedom would be threatened.