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TOKYO — Japan appeared to make moderate progress in stabilizing some of the nuclear reactors at the stricken power plant on Sunday, but at the same time disclosed new signs of radioactive contamination in agricultural produce and livestock.

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The government said it was barring all shipments of milk from Fukushima Prefecture and shipments of spinach from Ibaraki Prefecture, after finding new cases of above-normal levels of radioactive elements in milk and several vegetables. Relatively high levels were also found in spinach grown in the neighboring Tsukuba Prefecture, as well as canola and chrysanthemum greens in two more prefectures.
The emergency engineering scramble to mitigate damage at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, meanwhile, brought some notes of relief in the face of persistently dire conditions. Authorities said they had restored water pumps to two damaged reactors, Nos. 5 and 6, that were not of central concern, putting them under control in a state known as “cold shutdown.”
But another reactor that has proved more worrisome, No. 3, continued to bedevil engineers.
The Tokyo Electric Power Company, which runs the plant, had appeared to suffer a serious setback as officials said that pressure buildup at the ravaged No. 3 reactor would require the venting of more radioactive gases.
But at a news conference a few hours later, officials from the power company said that the pressure had stabilized and that they had decided they did not need to immediately release the gases, which would have heightened worries about a wider contamination among the population. They said they were unsure what had caused the pressure to rise, highlighting the uncertainty engineers must still grapple with at Fukushima.
The power company also said that on Sunday workers injected 40 tons of water into the storage pool of unit No. 2, and that firefighters began spraying water into the pool at unit No. 4. On Saturday, firefighters sprayed water at the storage pool of unit No. 3 for more than 13 hours.
The reactors placed in cold shutdown were already shut down before an earthquake and a tsunami struck last week, posing less of a risk than the other reactors at the plant. But their cooling systems were knocked out, and the fuel rods left inside the reactor started to heat up, together with spent fuel rods stored in a separate storage pool.
“We are getting closer to bringing the situation under control,” Tetsuro Fukuyama, the deputy chief cabinet secretary, said of the entire plant late Sunday.
After connecting a mile-long electrical transmission line Saturday, workers made progress in starting to restore power to the plant, which may allow the operator to restart its cooling systems. The government said that power was returned to Reactor No. 2 at 3:46 p.m. Sunday, and other reactors were also expected to gain power early in the week.
Even with electrical power extended to the reactors, there was no immediate indication from officials that the damaged pumping systems could be quickly restored.
“In general, our utmost efforts are producing definite results in preventing a worsening of the situation,” said Yukio Edano, the government’s chief cabinet secretary, who confirmed for the first time that the nuclear complex — with heavy damage to reactors and buildings and with radioactive contamination throughout — would be closed once the crisis is over.
Steven Chu, the United States Secretary of Energy, also conveyed optimism in an interview on “Fox News Sunday,” saying that “with each passing hour, each passing day things are more under control.” Japanese technicians trying to limit the spread of radiation “are making very good progress,” he said.
Despite the positive tone from officials, steep challenges persist. Workers were trying to avoid further damage to fuel rods in the reactor cores of Nos. 1, 2, and 3, and to prevent rods in the storage pools of Nos. 2, 3 and 4 from overheating.