Australia: Albanese Faces Calls to Apologise to Japan PM Over Melon Gesture

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is facing pressure to apologise to Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi over a gesture he made about two melons she gifted him, which his office insists was not a crude joke. In an interview last month, Mr Albanese gestured to his chest when recalling the melons during an exchange with Bush Deep podcast host Nikki Osborne, who asked how the fruit had been smuggled into the country. The incident resurfaced this morning after former Australian ambassador Shingo Yamagami criticised the exchange in The Australian, labelling it "insulting", ignorant and a betrayal of the "close relationship" between Australia and Japan.

The former Ambassador suggested Mr Albanese was making a quip about Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's body, but a spokesperson for Mr Albanese told The Australian, "this assertion is wrong". Opposition Leader Angus Taylor said it was beneath the office of the prime minister, and demanded Mr Albanese apologise. They were insulting, and the prime minister should make a personal apology.

He's done it through a statement. I mean, the hypocrisy of Labor and the foreign minister on this topic, Mr Taylor said.