Friday's terrorist attack in Dhaka has dampened work prospects for many Japanese firms, which in recent years have grown more dependent on Bangladesh as a manufacturing base as well as a market.

Some of the 240 Japanese companies with offices or factories in Bangladesh said Monday they have suspended employee trips from Japan to the country and grounded local employees in the wake of the attack by Islamic militants in which a total of 28 people, including six attackers, lost their lives. Among the dead were seven Japanese.

Fast Retailing Co., which runs the Uniqlo clothing brand, said its employees are restricted from entering Bangladesh on business trips until the end of July.