Australia PM under fire for remarks on Japanese counterpart’s melon gifts

Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is under fire for comments he made about two melons gifted to him by his Japanese counterpart Sanae Takaichi, after a former Japanese envoy called it an insult.

During an appearance on the Bush Deep podcast, Albanese gestured near his chest while referring to the crown melons, calling them “pretty strange” gifts that “ended up being quite good”.

That episode, which aired in July, had already landed the PM in hot water because of “inappropriate” comments he made about popstar Kylie Minogue.

Opposition leaders are now demanding he apologise to Takaichi – but Albanese’s position is that it was the host who made the joke, not him, the BBC understands.

While discussing the melons Takaichi’s team had presented to Albanese during her visit to Australia in May, the host of Bush Deep, comedian Nikki Osborne, quipped: “She brought two… She just came in looking like Pamela Anderson.”

“She brought two, and they are beautiful,” Albanese responded.

The exchange, which drew relatively little interest when the episode aired, has resurfaced after Tokyo’s former ambassador to Canberra Shingo Yamagami labelled Albanese’s comments a “sexist joke” and said they “betrayed the close bond” between Japan and Australia.

“The last thing [Takaichi] expected was to be so casually mocked by the trusted leader of Japan’s special strategic partner,” he wrote in an opinion piece published by The Australian on Monday.

Crown melons are the “most prized fruit” in Japan and “treasured as something special”, Yamagami added, noting that a single melon costs more than 30,000 yen ($188).

“So, prime minister, please enjoy Japan’s sweet and juicy melons without thinking about a woman’s anatomy, and instead focus on what our two countries must do together,” he said.

During his two-year stint in Australia, Yamagami had a notably frosty relationship with some members of Albanese’s Labor Party over disagreements regarding China.

An opposition MP asked Albanese on Tuesday if he would apologise for the “foul-mouthed, classless comments about women”, to which the prime minister said he “rejected the assertion of the question”.

He went on: “Australia and Japan have never been closer. My government has taken our special strategic partnership to new heights.”

Australia’s opposition leader Angus Taylor on Monday also criticised the gaffe as “insulting”, and demanded that Albanese make a personal apology.

Several Labor ministers have jumped to Albanese’s defence, saying the former envoy and the media have misinterpreted his comments.

Finance Minister Katy Gallagher said the remarks “were not intended to be interpreted the way that our political opponents and some media outlets are reporting”.

Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek called it “a completely unnecessary interpretation of what the prime minister said”.

“I think people watching it for themselves can make their own minds up,” Plibersek told Australia’s Channel Seven.

Plibersek had earlier defended Albanese’s controversial remarks about Minogue as nothing more than a sign that he was a fan.

The prime minister drew a wave of condemnation early last month after Osborne asked him on the podcast whether he would “shag, marry or date” Kylie Minogue, actress Nicole Kidman or entertainer Rhonda Burchmore – to which he replied “Kylie, clearly… all of the above”.

Albanese later issued a public apology, saying: “I apologise unequivocally for the comments”.

Osborne, who is best known for posting crude comedy sketches on YouTube, launched her podcast series earlier this year. Her podcast site describes her as a “wildly inappropriate journalist” who asks “questions no one else would dare”.