TOKYO (REUTERS) - Japanese Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, who has said he will take paternity leave in a rare move for a Japanese man, announced on Friday (Jan 17) the birth of his first child: a boy.

Mr Koizumi, son of charismatic former prime minister Junichiro Koizumi and seen as a future leader himself, said on Wednesday that he was planning to take two weeks of leave over three months, in an effort to become a role model for Japan's working fathers.