South Korean companies doing business in Japan are urging the Japanese government to retract its decision to remove South Korea from its trade "whitelist."  

An association of around 240 South Korean firms in Japan said it delivered a letter to the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry on Wednesday, calling on Tokyo to keep South Korea on its shortlist of countries that face minimum trade restrictions. 

The association said the removal will have negative ramifications on cooperative relationships between companies from both countries, noting Japanese firms will also be hit hard. 

On July first, the Japanese government announced export restrictions on three high-tech materials that South Korean tech giants heavily rely on. It also announced a plan to remove South Korea from it whitelist of 27 countries, which is expected to be implemented late next month.