TOKYO (Kyodo) -- The trade ministry has lifted a restriction on a transgender employee's use of workplace restrooms, a government source said Monday, more than a year after the top court ruled against such restrictions.

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry on Friday conveyed to the employee in her 50s, who has been living as a woman after being diagnosed with gender dysphoria, that she can use any of the female restrooms in the ministry building. She had been restricted to using the restrooms at least two floors above or below her office.

In July last year, the Supreme Court ruled that a 2015 approval by the National Personnel Authority endorsing the ministry's restrictions was "illegal."

The National Personnel Authority on Oct. 29 issued a redetermination on restroom use by employees, saying the ministry's continued restrictions, despite its efforts to foster understanding about LGBTQ and other sexual minorities, were "unfair."

The employee has not undergone sex reassignment surgery due to health reasons and has been undergoing hormone therapy for years, according to the ruling.