The second-hand value of Britain’s family cars is plummeting so fast that garages are now branding the largest gas-guzzling ‘Chelsea tractors’ worthless - and refusing to take them in part-exchange. Some are worth more as scrap, they say as demand for steel soars.

Used car values generally are set to drop by 12% between now and Christmas as the credit crunch bites, according to experts at EurotaxGlass’s.

Meanwhile, experts at price guide Parkers say the slump is being exacerbated by the Government’s controversial retrospective Vehicle Excise Duty plans which they say have ’skewed’ the market.

As a result of this and soaring fuel prices, garages are refusing to take the biggest 4×4s in part-exchange because they are considered worthless and impossible to sell.

Yasukuni Shrine is a Shinto shrine located in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It is dedicated to the kami (spirits) of soldiers and others who died fighting on behalf of the Emperor of Japan. Currently, its Symbolic Registry of Divinities lists the names of over 2,466,000 enshrined men and women whose lives were dedicated to the service of Imperial Japan, particularly to those killed in wartime.

The shrine is a source of considerable controversy. Of the almost 2.5 million enshrined, 1,068 have been convicted of war crimes by a post World War II court, including 14 Class-A war criminals (”crime against peace”). The Yūshūkan—a shrine-owned history museum—has been accused of revisionism in its accounts of Japan’s actions in World War II, as well as glorification of Japan’s aggressive militaristic past. Visits to the shrine by Japanese Cabinet members and Prime Ministers, in particular, have been the cause of protests at home as well as abroad. China, North Korea, South Korea and Taiwan have protested against various visits since 1985.

Aug. 15, 2008 marks the 63rd anniversary of the end of  World War II. For the people of Japan, including relatives of the war dead, it is a day of remembrance and of peace.

And every year on this day, the spotlight shines on Yasukuni Shrine — especially on whether the prime minister and Cabinet ministers will pay a visit to pray for those enshrined there.