Japan’s foreign minister Taro Kono has urged Myanmar’s civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi to guarantee the safe and voluntary return of Rohingya Muslims who have fled violence in troubled Rakhine state, Associated Press reported Friday.

While Taro Kono is in Myanmar in a three-day visit, Japan’s government announced Friday a grant of $3 million to Myanmar to help repatriate the refugees, the report said.

The Associated Press report says Kono’s visit to Myanmar includes traveling to northern Rakhine, from where more than 650,000 Rohingya fled to neighboring Bangladesh to escape the military’s brutal crackdown. 

Humanitarian groups and media have been strictly prohibited from traveling to the affected areas.

The report adds that Myanmar and Bangladesh signed an agreement on the repatriation of Rohingya refugees on Nov. 23, and Myanmar said it would start the process by Jan. 23.

The exact number of the returnees is still unknown, the report said.