Mr Bonnet, who was sent to Corsica to rid the island of corruption and gangsterism, is being questioned about the firebombing of a restaurant last month.

BBC: News | Europe | French parliament debates Corsica scandal

Like the constant construction in Beijing and Shanghai, Tokyo was on a fast-forward spree of tear-downs and building, clearing the flimsy structures put up hastily after clearing the firebombing rubble.

FORBES: Launching "Pan-Asian Currents"

The second world war saw mass murder (in the Holocaust, notably) or wilful killing (the nuclear strike on Hiroshima, the firebombing of Dresden, the siege of Stalingrad) of tens of millions of non-combatants.

ECONOMIST: Civilians in conflict