The next concerns were the shortages of energy and food. The main sources of
energy during that time was coal, but it’s output dropped significantly right after the
defeat. The biggest reason for its drop was that the Koreans and Chinese who had been
subjected to forced labor in the coal mines were refusing to continue, and coal mining
was in a state of virtual paralysis.4 Added to the shortage of energy, the output of
nation’s food supply, which is mostly rice, was also in shortage. With neither fuel nor
food, people feared that they would starve to death during the winter of 1945-1946. For
this reason, many jobless people worked in agriculture and coal production right after the
defeat.