Coalition Seeks Intervention After Leaked Memo Downplays Albanese Melon Gesture Row

Japan's government has broken its silence on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's hand gestures while describing a gift of two melons from the Japanese prime minister, which its former ambassador claimed were a disrespectful joke about the nation's first female PM. Labor ministers have expressed annoyance over continued questions about Albanese's hand gestures while referring to the gift. The Coalition is now seeking intervention after a confidential Japanese government memo playing down the matter was leaked to media.

The government will not say whether it intends to pursue the Coalition's allegations of an unlawful disclosure. In its first public remarks on the incident, Japan's ambassador to Australia Kazuhiro Suzuki told the ABC that the Japanese government was "aware of the reporting in the media". "We have been informed by the Australian side that Prime Minister Albanese did not make the comments in the way that has been reported, he said in a statement. "In any case, the dinner hosted by Prime Minister Albanese during the prime minister's visit to Australia this May was held in a very relaxed atmosphere.