The nation's most famous 'military geek' has come back to his home ground, just as he pledged when he left the top position in the Defense Agency three years ago.</PARAGRAPH>
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<TD><FONT SIZE='1'><B>Shigeru Ishiba –
takes over as defense minister from Masahiko Komura on Wednesday.
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Shigeru Ishiba, a 50-year-old Lower House member from Tottori Prefecture, is widely known for his expertise on weapons systems, complicated legal issues regarding defense, and above all his hobby of assembling and painting elaborate plastic models of warships and airplanes.
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