Work was interrupted for the second time in 24 hours after steam and smoke was emitted from two of the reactors.
Radiation levels spiked briefly, and engineers were told to leave the plant.
Meanwhile, the official death toll from the earthquake and tsunami has risen to more than 9,000, with 12,645 missing.
The work to restore power to the reactors restarted shortly after dawn.
Although power cables are reported to have been reattached to the various reactors, the authorities say they are still not in a position to get enough power to them to restart cooling systems and monitoring equipment.
Workers at the plant have been battling to cool reactors and spent fuel ponds to avoid a large-scale release of radiation, after the plant was crippled by fire and explosions following the 11 March quake and tsunami.
Technicians at the Fukushima plant are now battling with damage inflicted to electrical systems by the tsunami - and possibly by the earthquake that preceded it, and the gas explosions that subsequently rocked some of the reactor buildings.
Mains electricity has now arrived at three buildings, and at least in one it has been successfully connected to water pumps.
Some of the circuitry that distributes power around the site has been damaged, and it may be some days before all pumps and all instruments can be connected.
Some key information - such as the water temperature in some of the spent fuel ponds - is still missing, perhaps because instruments were destroyed by fire.
Nevertheless, the power station is undeniably more stable than at any time last week, and for the first time the International Atomic Energy Agency says it 'has no doubt' that the crisis will be overcome.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said a new government committee would meet regularly to co-ordinate with social agencies and ensure the evacuees were getting the support they need.
Some aid from foreign countries has started to arrive, and the government has started the process of finding temporary housing in other parts of the country for those made homeless.
Workers in north-east Japan have begun building temporary homes for the displaced. The prefabricated metal boxes with wooden floors were put up on the hillside near the devastated town of Rikuzentakata.
The government has also relaxed stockpiling rules on fuel wholesalers in a bid to get more fuel to the affected areas.
Power rationing has resumed across Japan because of shortages caused by the nuclear shutdown.
Food shipments halted
Twenty-four hours ago, the Japanese authorities were more upbeat about the operation to stabilise the Fukushima plant.
The head of the UN atomic agency (IAEA) said he had no doubt the crisis would be" effectively overcome".
The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) - whose staff are in Tokyo conferring with the Japanese government and industry officials - has said the Japanese nuclear crisis appeared to be stabilising.
The NRC said that reactors 1, 2 and 3 had some core damage but their containment was not currently breached.
Defence Minister Toshimi Kitazawa said he believes the smoke rising from the No 2 reactor is vapour caused by water-discharging operations, and the smoke at No 3 was from rubble that had caught fire following a rise in temperature.
Amounts of radiation many times the legal limit have been detected in seawater near the plant. The plant's operator Tepco is investigating.
On Monday, the government ordered a halt to some food shipments from four prefectures around the Fukushima nuclear plant, as concern increases about radioactive traces in vegetables and water supplies.
Villagers living near the plant have been told not to drink tap water because of higher levels of radioactive iodine.
The suspension - which the government said was just a precaution - applies to spinach from the prefectures of Fukushima, Ibaraki, Tochigi and Gunma, as well as milk from Fukushima.
Tepco will have to compensate farmers for losses caused by the nuclear radiation leaking from its power plants, the Japan authorities have said.
The firm will have to take responsibility, said Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano at a press conference.
The World Health Organization said it had no evidence of contaminated food reaching other countries. However, China, Taiwan and South Korea have announced plans to toughen checks of Japanese imports
Radiation levels spiked briefly, and engineers were told to leave the plant.
Meanwhile, the official death toll from the earthquake and tsunami has risen to more than 9,000, with 12,645 missing.
The work to restore power to the reactors restarted shortly after dawn.
Although power cables are reported to have been reattached to the various reactors, the authorities say they are still not in a position to get enough power to them to restart cooling systems and monitoring equipment.
Workers at the plant have been battling to cool reactors and spent fuel ponds to avoid a large-scale release of radiation, after the plant was crippled by fire and explosions following the 11 March quake and tsunami.
Analysis
Mains electricity has now arrived at three buildings, and at least in one it has been successfully connected to water pumps.
Some of the circuitry that distributes power around the site has been damaged, and it may be some days before all pumps and all instruments can be connected.
Some key information - such as the water temperature in some of the spent fuel ponds - is still missing, perhaps because instruments were destroyed by fire.
Nevertheless, the power station is undeniably more stable than at any time last week, and for the first time the International Atomic Energy Agency says it 'has no doubt' that the crisis will be overcome.
Police say the death toll from the earthquake and tsunami is now 9,079.
More than 350,000 people are still living in evacuation centres in northern and eastern Japan, many of them short of food and water. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said a new government committee would meet regularly to co-ordinate with social agencies and ensure the evacuees were getting the support they need.
Some aid from foreign countries has started to arrive, and the government has started the process of finding temporary housing in other parts of the country for those made homeless.
Workers in north-east Japan have begun building temporary homes for the displaced. The prefabricated metal boxes with wooden floors were put up on the hillside near the devastated town of Rikuzentakata.
The government has also relaxed stockpiling rules on fuel wholesalers in a bid to get more fuel to the affected areas.
Power rationing has resumed across Japan because of shortages caused by the nuclear shutdown.
Food shipments halted
Twenty-four hours ago, the Japanese authorities were more upbeat about the operation to stabilise the Fukushima plant.
The head of the UN atomic agency (IAEA) said he had no doubt the crisis would be" effectively overcome".
The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) - whose staff are in Tokyo conferring with the Japanese government and industry officials - has said the Japanese nuclear crisis appeared to be stabilising.
The NRC said that reactors 1, 2 and 3 had some core damage but their containment was not currently breached.
FUKUSHIMA UPDATE
- Reactor 1: Damage to the core from cooling problems. Building holed by gas explosion. Power lines attached.
- Reactor 2: Damage to the core from cooling problems. Building holed by gas blast; containment damage suspected. Power lines attached.
- Reactor 3: Damage to the core from cooling problems. Building holed by gas blast; containment damage possible. Spent fuel pond partly refilled with water after running low.
- Reactor 4: Reactor shut down prior to earthquake. Fires and explosion in spent fuel pond; water level partly restored. Power lines attached.
- Reactors 5 & 6: Reactors shut down. Temperature of spent fuel pools now lowered after rising high. Power lines attached.
But Industry Minister Banri Kaieda told a news conference on Tuesday that the situation was "extremely tough" and that it was "difficult to say that things are showing progress".
White vapour and smoke are still rising from reactors 2 and 3 but radiation levels remain stable.Defence Minister Toshimi Kitazawa said he believes the smoke rising from the No 2 reactor is vapour caused by water-discharging operations, and the smoke at No 3 was from rubble that had caught fire following a rise in temperature.
Amounts of radiation many times the legal limit have been detected in seawater near the plant. The plant's operator Tepco is investigating.
On Monday, the government ordered a halt to some food shipments from four prefectures around the Fukushima nuclear plant, as concern increases about radioactive traces in vegetables and water supplies.
Villagers living near the plant have been told not to drink tap water because of higher levels of radioactive iodine.
The suspension - which the government said was just a precaution - applies to spinach from the prefectures of Fukushima, Ibaraki, Tochigi and Gunma, as well as milk from Fukushima.
Tepco will have to compensate farmers for losses caused by the nuclear radiation leaking from its power plants, the Japan authorities have said.
The firm will have to take responsibility, said Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano at a press conference.
The World Health Organization said it had no evidence of contaminated food reaching other countries. However, China, Taiwan and South Korea have announced plans to toughen checks of Japanese imports
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