Katsutaka Idogawa, the 64-year-old mayor of Futaba, Fukushima Prefecture, is standing at a crossroads.

Whether evacuees in Saitama Prefecture from Futaba, where two of the six reactors at the troubled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant are located, will stay there or go back to Fukushima Prefecture is in Idogawa's hands. Weeks have passed since the March 11 disaster, but the mayor is still struggling to make up his mind.

"We came here (to Saitama) with the balance between a place to live and to work in mind. For the moment, we will stay here and consider what we will do next," the mayor told the press at the closed Kisai High School in Kazo, Saitama Prefecture, which is now used as a shelter.