The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant has become safer in terms of physical hardware, while plant workers appear to be improving their emergency-response skills, overseas experts who inspected the facility Thursday said.

Members of a Nuclear Reform Monitoring Committee, which is keeping a watch on Tokyo Electric Power Co., visited the Kashiwazaki plant for the first time to check whether the utility had made progress on safety. It is the world's largest nuclear power plant, housing seven reactors.

"From what we've seen with the physical improvements, I believe the plant is much safer than it has been in the past," said Dale Klein, a former chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission who heads the monitoring committee.