Anthony Albanese faces political firestorm in parliament over Japanese Prime Minister’s ‘melons’

Anthony Albanese has declined to assure parliament that his office or department are not suspects in the leak of private correspondence from the government of Japan regarding his “melons” podcast.

The Coalition has now referred the matter to the Australian Federal Police after several media outlets reported, but did not publish the contents of a letter from Japan to the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.

It follows a week of controversy over whether Mr Albanese engaged in crude jokes about the Japanese Prime Minister’s “melons” on a podcast while drinking whisky with a female comedian in a safari suit.

It’s the same podcast where, when asked if he would “shag, marry or date” pop star Kylie Minogue, he said “all of the above.”

In the 24 hours after the controversy reignited, a letter from Japan emerged in the media insisting Japan would not raise an official complaint and suggesting media “sensationalism” was a factor.

In parliament, Liberal frontbencher Ted O’Brien asked the Prime Minister to rule out any involvement in the leak of the letter to the media.

“Can the Prime Minister assure the House that neither his office nor his department leaked official and private correspondence from the government of Japan, and what steps has he taken to satisfy himself that this is the case?” he asked.

In response, the Prime Minister pointedly did not offer any denial or answer the question.

“I thank the member for his question. We take our relationship seriously, including our obligations for engagement, including with Japan,” the Prime Minister said.

“I note that in a political stunt from the opposition, they have they have referred matters to the AFP. The AFP is, of course, completely independent of the government, and they’ll undertake their work, and I’m confident about that.”

‘Man up’

Earlier, the Liberal leader Angus Taylor opened parliament with a question to the Prime Minister urging him to “man up” and apologise.

“Millions of Australians have now seen, with their own eyes, the prime minister’s appalling behaviour on the Bush Deep podcast,‘’ he said.

“Now he embarrasses all of us by refusing to apologise to the Prime Minister of Japan.

“Why won’t the Prime Minister stop treating us like fools, man up, and say sorry to the Prime Minister of Japan?.”

In response, Mr Albanese stuck to the script and didn’t engage with calls for an apology.

“We take our relationships seriously, including our regular engagement with Japan,” he said.

Japan’s letter

Japan formally raised Anthony Albanese’s appearance in a cringe-worthy podcast discussing the Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s “melons” in official correspondence.

In the letter, Japan suggested the matter had been “sensationalised” by the media and would not result in a complaint.

Mr Albanese maintains he wasn’t joking about the female prime minister’s anatomy, despite the comedian referencing Pamela Anderson, a former Baywatch star and Playboy model.

But diplomatic sources suggested the prime minister’s comments, made while drinking Canadian whiskey with a comedian in a safari suit, were so embarrassing that both countries were at pains to defuse the matter.

News.com.au understands that the opposition’s foreign affairs spokesman Ted O’Brien quietly met with the Japanese ambassador to Australia Kazuhiro Suzuki on Monday to express his “deep regret” over the comments.

He did not wish to elaborate on the private meeting other than to note that the “deep and enduring” relationship is one of Australia’s most important partnerships.

“The prime minister’s words were inappropriate and a national embarrassment,” Mr O’Brien said.

In the correspondence between Japan and the prime minister’s department, Japan also moved to clarify another “joke” in the podcast that the Japanese prime minister had “smuggled” the melons into Australia insisting they were legally obtained here.

In the diplomatic cable dated July 13, the Japanese government suggested there had been “sensationalised reporting in the Australian media”.

It then stated that Australia could be reassured that Japan did not believe there was any “ill intention” in Mr Albanese’s comments.

The letter stressed there would be “no action” over the matter and that Japan would assist the Australian government in not making comment to “allow the Australian media to move on”.

But rather than being reassuring, one former top government official speaking on the condition of anonymity said it was all completely “embarrassing.”

“At best it’s quite embarrassing to be in a position where a foreign embassy or department is officially sending such a message,’’ he said.

“With Japan having done so the Australian government is presumably now not only embarrassed at what our prime minister said but somewhat indebted to Japan for their generosity in giving it an official shoulder shrug.”

Another MP suggested Japan was at pains to help Australia defuse the matter.

“If this was accepted as an insult to one’s national honour, it has the potential to have dire consequences for the relationship,’’ he said.

“So it’s in everyone’s interest to say it’s no big deal.”

Mr Albanese is facing growing pressure to offer an official apology, with Liberal leader Angus Taylor weighing in on the row on Monday, insisting that the crass podcast was unbecoming of the office.

“The comments were beneath the office of prime minister,’’ he said.

“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 prime minister on this topic knows no bounds, no bounds whatsoever,” he said.

Mr Albanese has furiously denied making a crude joke about Ms Takaichi’s “melons” in the same interview where he admitted he would “shag” Kylie Minogue.

He previously apologised for his remarks about Kylie Minogue after he was asked about her on Nova’s podcast Bush Deep with Australian comedian Nikki Osborne.

During the innuendo-laden interview, Mr Albanese stated that Ms Takaichi had brought “a couple of melons,” before making a squeezing hand gesture in front of his chest.

Ms Osborne then jokingly replied: “She brought two. She just came in looking like Pamela Anderson.”

But in a terse statement on Monday, the Prime Minister’s spokeswoman denied the comments were a joke about breasts, stating, “This assertion is wrong.”

The controversy has been reignited after Tokyo’s former ambassador in Canberra, Shingo Yamagami, penned an opinion piece slamming the “insulting” comments and speculating they damaged the Prime Minister’s standing in Japan.

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