Japan has weighed in on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s cringeworthy ‘melons’ comment about counterpart Sanae Takaichi in an attempt to defuse the ongoing saga.
It has been a month since Albanese made the remarks during a controversial appearance on Nikki Osborne’s Beep Bush podcast.
He reflected on being gifted two Shizuoka-grown melons during Takaichi’s recent visit to Australia.
Osborne jokingly asked whether Japan’s first female PM had ‘smuggled’ the highly prized melons through customs, making a hand gesture and referring to former Baywatch star Pamela Anderson.
‘Got a couple of melons,’ Albanese replied, while making a similar gesture.
‘She brought two, as you do … and they’re beautiful.’
The Japanese government wrote to the Prime Minister’s department last month to suggest the matter had been ‘sensationalised reporting in the Australian media’.
Japan reassured Australia that it did not believe there was any ‘ill intention’ in Albanese’s comments, adding that ‘no action’ would be taken to ‘allow the Australian media to move on’.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is facing growing backlash over his cringeworthy ‘melons’ comment about Japanese counterpart Sanae Takaichi
In an episode of the Bush Deep podcast, Albanese recalled being given a ‘royal melon’ by Sanae Takaichi during her first visit to Australia in May
On Monday, about a month after the comments were aired, Albanese pushed back against suggestions his remarks were a crude joke about her anatomy. ‘This assertion is wrong.’
But despite attempts by both countries to defuse the saga, Albanese continues to face backlash over the comments.
Shingo Yamagami, Japan’s former ambassador to Australia, said the interview had undermined the Prime Minister’s reputation in Japan.
According to Yamagami, Takaichi is no stranger to derogatory remarks about her body and gender from China and her political opponents, and ‘the last thing she expected was to be so casually mocked by the trusted leader of Japan’s special strategic partner’.
‘However lighthearted it was intended to be, the recent joke delivered by PM Anthony Albanese at the expense of Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi is how he might be remembered by Japanese who most value the friendship with Australia,’ he wrote.
‘It is a time for toiling and not for crude jokes at another’s expense,’ he says.
He said Australia and Japan’s close relationship would not be weakened by the comments.
However, he said they showed ‘a paucity of strategic thinking’ at a time when the two countries need to be working together to push back against China.
The Japanese government recently addressed the comments with Albanese’s department in an attempt to defuse the controversy. Pictured is Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi
‘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.’
During the podcast, Albanese also sparked outrage by playing a game of ‘shag, marry or date’.
Albanese was asked to play the game involving Kylie Minogue, Nicole Kidman and Rhonda Burchmore, choosing which celebrity he would sleep with, marry or date.
Responding to the question, the Prime Minister said: ‘I’ve just got married. I’m only six months in.’
‘But if it goes tits up?’ Osborne hit back.
‘Kylie, clearly,’ he replied.
‘You’d marry Kylie? And shag her? And date her?’ questioned Osborne.
‘All of the above,’ replied Albanese. ‘She’s terrific.’
Elsewhere in the podcast interview, Osborne asked if Albanese and his new wife Jodie Haydon were ‘bonking like rabbits’.
‘Well, when we have time,’ he replied.
‘After the footy. It’s always a good aphrodisiac, a Souths win,’ he added, referencing the couple’s chosen NRL team.
