Australia’s prime minister refuses to apologise to Japanese counterpart over melon gaffe

The Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has rejected calls to apologise to Japan’s prime minister over a joke he made about melons on a satirical podcast, amid a media frenzy and accusations of sexual innuendo.Government MPs have defended the prime minister as criticism mounted over last month’s remarks, branded by the Coalition opposition as “grubby”. The assistant minister Pat Gorman told media: “I don’t know why we’re still talking about this.”During an interview on the comedy podcast Bush Deep in early July, Albanese spoke about Japan’s leader, Sanae Takaichi, giving him a gift of Japanese melons.Discussing the present, he appeared to make hand gestures in front of his chest, saying “she brought two, as you do”. Host Nikki Osborne joked: “She came in looking like Pamela Anderson.”Albanese had not previously addressed the comments, but in parliament’s question time on Tuesday, was asked by the opposition whether he would apologise. In her question, the Liberal MP Mary Aldred described Albanese’s comments as “foul-mouthed, classless” and “disrespectful behaviour”.Albanese responded: “I reject the assertion in the question.”He continued, “Australia and Japan have never been closer or more strategically aligned. And my government has taken our special strategic partnership to new heights,” noting recent economic, strategic and security collaborations between the countries.During his answer, one Liberal MP interjected: “Why didn’t you say that in the podcast?”Aldred later asked again whether Albanese would apologise, to which he again noted various meetings with Takaichi and the close relationship between Japan and Australia.The melon comments have since been canvassed regularly by media outlets including The Australian, the West Australian and The Australian Financial Review. But it resurfaced as a political issue after The Australian ran a comment piece on Monday from the former Japanese ambassador Shingo Yamagami, who claimed Albanese had insulted Takaichi.In an op-ed titled “sexist melon joke was not only ungracious, it betrayed the close bond of our two nations”, Yamagami – who left his post in 2023 and previously had a less-than-warm relationship with some in Labor – called out “crude jokes”.The Australian reported on Tuesday that Japan’s government had sent a diplomatic cable to Australia in July, days after the podcast originally aired, claiming there had been “sensationalised reporting in The Australian media” and saying they detected no “ill intention” in Albanese’s statement.The opposition leader, Angus Taylor, on Monday demanded Albanese apologise, while his deputy, Jane Hume, claimed the melon comments were “grubby” and “beneath the office of the prime minister”.Shiro Armstrong, the director of the Australia-Japan Research Centre at The Australian National University, told Radio National last week there had been “no mention of [Albanese’s comments] in Japan until weeks later”, calling it a “non-issue” in the country.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionYamagami told News24 on Tuesday that Albanese should consider visiting Japan this year to meet Takaichi, claiming the issue was a topic of debate in his country.“We need to move on, but I think we need to show mutual respect to each other,” Yamagami said.Labor MPs have closed ranks around Albanese, defending the prime minister and deflecting questions about his remarks.Asked whether an apology was needed, Gorman said: “There is no need for that.”The resources minister, Madeleine King, referred to the Japanese cable saying there had been “sensationalised reporting”, and claimed Albanese’s comments had been “mischaracterised”.The agriculture minister, Julie Collins, said Albanese had rejected “the type of inference that you’re applying” while the environment minister, Murray Watt, said “some media interpretations of that episode of that podcast have been misinterpreted”.The same podcast interview earlier attracted controversy after Albanese nominated singer Kylie Minogue while playing a game of “shag, marry, date” with Osborne. After the podcast, Albanese said he apologised “unequivocally” for those comments.The host later said attention on the game had been a “moment taken out of context”.