Many Japanese companies are considering pulling out of China amid an intensifying territorial dispute between the two countries over a group of islands in the East China Sea.

A Reuters survey of executives at 400 Japanese firms found that 18 percent are reviewing a move to another country.

The Japanese government estimates that Japanese businesses, such as Panasonic and Toyota, have invested more than one trillion U.S. dollars to build factories in China since 1990.

Pundits predict that rising labor costs in China and the territorial dispute may cause Japanese companies to leave China.