CBS News
China-Taiwan tension brings troops, missiles and anxiety to Japan’s paradise island of Ishigaki
Ishigaki, Japan — President Biden hosted Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at an official state dinner in Washington on Wednesday evening, showcasing the importance of the U.S.-Japanese relationship. Washington is counting on that close alliance to help limit China’s influence in the Indo-Pacific region.
Tension has been especially high recently over China’s not-so-subtle threats that it could take over the island of Taiwan by force. Taiwan is a democracy that lies roughly 100 miles off the Chinese coast.
The United States, also not so subtly, has implied that it would protect Taiwan against a Chinese invasion, and that allies including Japan would be expected to help.
Japan has already committed to a bigger military role in the Pacific, in partnership with the U.S. It has increased its defense budget this year by more than $55 billion, and is investing in both weapons technology and troop training.
Kishida’s government argues that a more muscular military is necessary to deal with what it calls the “most severe and complex security environment since the end of World War II.”
Not everyone in Japan is happy about the muscle building, however.
Take the residents of one tiny, picturesque island at the extreme southern end of the Japanese island chain. Ishigaki has long drawn tourists with its famous white sand beaches, laid-back vibe and tranquil turquoise seas.
But there’s trouble in paradise.
The Japan Self Defense Forces, the country’s military, has installed a missile base right in the center of the island.
CBS News/Randy Schmidt
On a hill surrounded by sugar cane and pineapple farms, about 600 soldiers and a battery of powerful missiles and launchers are now dug in. They are perfectly positioned to join the fight on the side of Japan and the U.S. if China attacks Taiwan, which lies just 150 miles away across those turquoise waters.
“For us, it doesn’t make sense,” Setsuko Yamazato, an Ishigaki resident since birth, told CBS News. When plans for the base became public, she joined other residents to protest against the militarization of their island.
“Just having them here is asking for trouble,” she said. “We feel powerless. Helpless.”
At the base, Commander Yuichiro Inoue sympathizes with the island’s residents. A veteran of international conflict who served with Japan’s military contingent in Iraq, he understands that it’s hard for the islanders to accept that, by an accident of geography, their little community could wind up on the front line of a future war.
But Inoue defended the new base, noting a “number of challenges” in the region.
“China unilaterally claims territory, and North Korea is launching military satellites and missiles,” he said. “Our mission is to provide deterrence against all these threats, and show that we are serious about protecting this country.”
China’s muscle-flexing has already affected the lives of Ishigaki’s fisherman. Chinese Coast Guard ships have chased them away from the waters around the nearby Senkaku Islands, which both Japan and China claim to own. China calls them the Diaoyu Islands.
Even so, Yamazato hates the idea of a beefed-up military presence on Ishigaki. As a little girl during World War II, she lost her mother, brother, sister and grandfather. The U.S. invasion of Japan in 1945 began on the neighboring island of Okinawa.
CBS News/Randy Schmidt
Yamazato had hoped the end of that conflict would mark a new era of peace and prosperity and, for decades, it did. She thrived and made a career for herself as a flight attendant with the American Overseas Airlines, and later for the American Geological Survey.
Now 87, she can’t believe the threat of war is back, and she worries that the Ishigaki missile base will make her island a target.
“That is what I fear the most,” she told CBS News.
“It’s a sad fact of modern life,” countered Commander Inoue. “A lot of people feel that way, but they need to understand global and regional realities are very harsh.”
Japan has definitively chosen the U.S. side in the great Pacific geo-political rivalry, and preserving the peace means having weapons of war aimed outward, over Ishigaki’s tropical seas.
With Christmas only a few days away, many Americans may be dreaming of a white Christmas, but few will end up walking in a winter wonderland. The warm and above-average temperatures in the weather forecast across the continental U.S. for Christmas week of 2024 are expected to keep any precipitation that falls as rain, not snow, for many parts of the country.
Where is most likely to get snow on Christmas?
If you’re looking for fluffy white flakes, some spots have a better chance than others.
This year, the only parts of the U.S. likely to see a white Christmas will be in the Rocky Mountains and along the U.S. border with Canada. That includes some northern areas of North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, upstate New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.
Weather forecast for holiday travel
For those who are trying to travel on Monday, the more difficult regions will be in the Upper Midwest and in the northern Rockies. Falling snowflakes can be found in states like Idaho, western Montana, northern Minnesota, Wisconsin and northern Michigan. Interstate travel will be hazardous through parts of I-15, I-90, I-84, I-94 and I-75.
CBS News
The wintry weather conditions shift from the Great Lakes region into the Northeast on Tuesday. Cold air pushes through to bring upwards of a half a foot of snow to the interior Northeast.
Moisture from the Gulf of Mexico will bring rain showers to the Mississippi Valley. In the West, the next atmospheric river will deliver rain to the lower elevations, with snow falling in the Cascade Mountains. Hazardous interstate travel conditions will be found along I-5, I-90, I-94, I-80, I-81 and even parts of I-95 up the East Coast.
CBS News
Map of snow forecast for Christmas Day 2024
On Wednesday, Christmas Day, not many locations will see the fresh snowfall of picture-book holidays.
The definition of a “white Christmas” by the National Weather Service is having at least 1 inch of snow on the ground on Christmas morning. The only areas likely to meet that qualification on Christmas Day this year will be in the Rockies and along the U.S.-Canada border.
The moisture from the atmospheric river in the West will move into the Rockies to bring light snow to the higher elevations.
CBS News
Elsewhere, rain showers stick around in the Mississippi Valley, making for a soggy Christmas Day. Temperatures are forecast to be well above the freezing mark most places, which means precipitation will mainly be rain. Messy travel on Christmas could be found along Interstate 40, I-55, I-40, I-70, I-80 and I-90.
On Thursday, the next round of weather moves into the Northwest. Lower elevation rain can be expected along I-5, while in the interior Northwest.heavier snowfall is forecast in the Cascades and down into the Sierra Nevada mountains. Lingering rain showers continue in the Mississippi Valley and into parts of the Midwest.
Are white Christmases getting rarer?
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has tracked snowfall data across the U.S. for years, and says there have been some notable changes over the past four decades, “consistent with the reality of long-term warming.”
When comparing the average probability of Christmas snowfall from 1981-2010 to the period from 1991-2020, NOAA says, “More areas experienced decreases in their chances of a white Christmas than experienced increases.”
The NOAA map below shows areas with the highest historic probability of seeing a white Christmas. Areas shaded in light blue have a higher than average chance, while the northern and mountain locations marked in white have historically had snow on Christmas at least 90% of the time.
NOAA/Climate.gov
You can explore an interactive version of the map on NOAA’s website here.
CBS News
Tyler Perry and Kerry Washington on bringing the untold story of “Six Triple Eight” to the big screen
Hollywood powerhouses Tyler Perry and Kerry Washington have joined forces to tell the remarkable story of the 6888th Postal Battalion, which was the only women’s Army Corps unit of color to be stationed in Europe during World War II. Perry — who wrote, directed and produced the film — describes “Six Triple Eight” as an important chapter in U.S. history.
The film centers on the women of the 6888th who were sent to Europe with the daunting task of delivering a backlog of nearly 17 million pieces of mail to U.S. soldiers and their families. The women not only completed the mission, but did so in just 90 days, defying expectations. Kerry Washington stars as Major Charity Adams, the real-life commanding officer of the unit and the highest-ranking Black female officer during the war.
At Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall near Washington, D.C., Perry and Washington discussed the significance of sharing this story.
Washington’s portrayal of Adams was a key part of the project. Perry explained his choice of Washington for the role, saying, “I thought, ‘Let’s show the world that there’s something so different here from you. I know they know Olivia Pope. But when we’re done, they’re going to see no one but Charity Adams.'”
The film also brought intense moments of historical reflection. Perry recounted a personal encounter with Lena King, one of the last surviving members of the 6888th, who was 99 years old at the time and home on hospice.
“I actually wanted all of the surviving members to see it,” he said. “Lena was the only one who got a chance to. I rushed a cut together and bought it to her.”
King’s reaction to the film was unforgettable for Perry.
“We watched it and she was in tears. And at the end of it, she’s saluting and she’s crying. And she says, ‘Tyler, thank you for letting the world know that black women contributed into war effort,'” Perry recalled.
Both Perry and Washington recognized the story’s importance, emphasizing that the women of the 6888th had been overlooked historically.
“There were 855 Black women and women of color who served in World War II, and no one knew it,” Perry said. Washington added, “And went overseas to represent this country.”
The film also explores the strength of these women who faced immense odds.
“It really is about exceeding expectations and being able to achieve against all odds and being able to stand up to people who don’t believe in you to say, ‘I believe in me. And I believe in we,'” Washington said.
You can stream “Six Triple Eight” on Netflix.
Watch CBS News
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.
