The Unification Church filed an appeal with the Tokyo High Court on Monday over a district court ruling stripping it of its religious corporation status that exempts it from taxes.

The follows the Tokyo District Court's ruling last month, the first time a court has made such an order against a religious organization for committing illegal acts under the Civil Code.

"(The order) was decided as a foregone conclusion and ignored law and the facts," the group, formally called the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, said in a statement.