The coronavirus outbreak is increasingly weighing on Japanese companies that do business in China.

Toyota Motor has decided to further postpone the resumption of operations at its factories in four cities, including Tianjin and Guangzhou. They will remain closed at least until February16 .

Companies are preparing to bring home employees and their families from Wuhan, a Chinese city at the center of the coronavirus outbreak.

The Japan External Trade Organization says about 160 Japanese firms are operating in and around the city.

Japanese firms operating in China are trying to protect their employees from the newly identified coronavirus that can trigger pneumonia.

The Japan External Trade Organization says, as of October, 156 Japanese firms had bases in or around Wuhan, the city at the center of the outbreak.

Japanese companies operating in China are tightening measures to prevent their employees from getting pneumonia following an outbreak in the country that may be linked to a new type of coronavirus.

Japan External Trade Organization, or JETRO, says 156 Japanese firms are located in Wuhan and surrounding cities. The inland Chinese city has been hit by the pneumonia outbreak.