Christel Takigawa, a freelance TV newscaster and wife of Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, gave birth to a boy early Friday morning.
"I'm happy and reassured to say a healthy baby boy was born early today," Koizumi told members of the press Friday morning. "Thankfully, both the mother and child are doing just fine."
Though he declined to share his first son's name, the minister said he was able to be with his wife during the birth, something that would have likely been impossible had the child been born next week with the ordinary Diet session starting on Monday.