England's resident doctors start 5-day walkout

Resident doctors, referred to as junior doctors in England started a five-day walkout on Friday to protest the decrease in income caused by rising living costs.

This marks the 13th such strike by doctors in England over the past two years.

The walkout may pose a significant risk of postponements in surgeries and appointments within the Britain's National Health Service (NHS).

The walkout is organized by the British Medical Association (BMA), which emphasized that the strike is not the doctors' preferred course of action. However, prolonged issues and a severe staffing shortage have compelled them to take to the streets once again.

"So there are more doctors in the last year left the NHS than they did in the last decade. They're going to other countries, they're going to other industries here in the UK because they aren't being valued. We think a fair offer which values doctors to keep them in the NHS and also adds more doctors to health system is what patients need," said Jack Fletcher, a doctor.

Resident doctors represent the first step for medical students entering the workforce. However, the continuous rise in living costs has led to dissatisfaction with the income of these young professionals.

This strike is the 13th large-scale action taken by health-care workers in the UK since March 2023, with participation from tens of thousands of BMA resident doctors.

The NHS has stated that it will strive to maintain normal hospital operations. However, the previous strike has resulted in approximately 54,000 cancellation or rescheduling of surgeries and appointments.

This latest strike is projected to cost the UK government around 240 million pounds.

England's resident doctors start 5-day walkout

England's resident doctors start 5-day walkout

England's resident doctors start 5-day walkout

England's resident doctors start 5-day walkout

England's resident doctors start 5-day walkout

Continued surges in global oil prices, a result of the ongoing U.S.-Israeli military strikes against Iran, will put severe pressure on Japan's heavily energy-import-dependent economy, a Japanese scholar warned.

The warning came as the Japanese government started a historic oil reserve release on Monday to ease the impact of volatile international oil prices. The release totaled around 80 million barrels, equal to roughly 45 days of Japan's domestic oil consumption, marking the largest-ever drawdown of the country's oil reserves.

Tomohiko Nakamura, a professor of the Faculty of Economics at Kobe International University, said that while the reserve release will have a limited effect in curbing oil price hikes, protracted geopolitical tensions in the Middle East will undermine the policy's impact given Japan's finite oil stockpiles.

"I believe the release of oil reserves will have a certain effect in curbing oil price hikes. However, if the tensions in the Middle East become protracted, that will pose a problem as Japan's oil reserves are not unlimited. We are facing a double whammy: on one hand, crude oil prices are rising, and on the other, the yen's depreciation is driving up import costs. The impact of soaring crude prices is being felt not just in Japan, but across the world. For example, the power sector, where a large share of electricity generation still relies on oil, will see higher generation costs, and as a result, nearly all industries will be affected. These unforeseen impacts may gradually become apparent over the next month," he said.

Beyond the immediate macroeconomic pressures, Nakamura expressed particular concern for Japan's small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which form the backbone of the country's economic activity.

"The biggest impact is the sharp rise in raw material and fuel costs. While large corporations can reduce costs through bulk purchasing, SMEs find it difficult to achieve the same. As a result, the operating pressures on SMEs will grow increasingly severe, leading to a probable rise in the number of businesses exiting the market. The trend of declining SME numbers could accelerate further," he said.

Soaring oil prices put severe pressure on Japan's economy: Japanese scholar