Japan’s nuclear power regulator has lifted an operational ban imposed on Tokyo Electric Power Company’s (Tepco) Kashiwazaki Kariwa nuclear power station two years ago, allowing the company to work towards gaining local permission to restart.

Citing improvements in safety management systems, the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) said it had lifted an order that had prevented station owner and operator Tepco from transporting new fuel to the plant or loading fuel rods into its reactors – effectively blocking any reactor restarts.

Units 6 and 7 at the seven-unit Kashiwazaki Kariwa, in Niigata Prefecture, western Japan, have already passed NRA restart inspections, but concerns over the facility’s management, in particular its security arrangements, had led to the NRA’s ban on the movement of fuel at the site.