Japan believes that Myanmar did not commit state-sponsored genocide against Rohingya Muslims during a 2017 military-led crackdown that left thousands dead and drove more than 740,000 out of the country, Japan's ambassador to Myanmar said this week, despite legal action being taken on such charges in international courts, according to a report by RFA.

Ambassador Ichiro Maruyama told the Myanmar media during a press conference that the Japanese government does not believe that genocide occurred in northern Rakhine state during military-led violence that began more than two years ago.

The ambassador said he hoped the International Court of Justice, where Myanmar faces genocide charges, will not order emergency measures to prevent further atrocities from being conducted against the minority group.