Atsuko Maeda, an original member of the all-girl pop group AKB48, has given birth to a baby boy, her first child, her husband said Monday.

"I'd like to report that a baby boy was safely born the other day," Ryo Katsuji, a 32-year-old actor and Maeda's husband, posted to his Instagram account Monday morning, adding that both mother and baby are in good health.

(Atsuko Maeda at the 11th Asian Film Awards in Hong Kong in March 2017)
[VCG/Getty/Kyodo]  

Maeda, 27, a native of Chiba Prefecture near Tokyo, married Katsuji in July last year.

She was voted AKB48's most popular member in an annual fan poll in 2009 and 2011. She later left the group, formed in 2005, to pursue an acting career.

Katsuji, born in Tokyo, has appeared in various TV dramas, movies and theater productions, including the hit series "Amachan," which was aired on Japanese public broadcaster NHK in 2013.


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