Mr Albanese told News24 he has already said sorry for “elements of the podcast” but has nothing to apologise for in relation to the diplomatic incident.

It comes after Mr Albanese said he was sorry for his comments in a podcast in which he suggested he would “shag” Kylie Minogue, but refused to apologise for “melons” comments about Ms Takaichi.

Despite this, the Coalition has continued to call for Mr Albanese to apologise, although he has denied having made any sexual innuendo about Ms Takaichi. 

Speaking to News24, Mr Albanese said he respected Ms Takaichi and Japan, while arguing his comments were misrepresented.

“I do respect the Japanese Prime Minister,” Mr Albanese told News24 when asked about his controversial comments.

“There’ve been a lot of words written about this. There hasn’t been one word attributed to me that people have pointed towards as being inappropriate.”

Watch the full interview at 12pm with a News24.com.au Streaming Subscription.

Mr Albanese was asked whether he should simply apologise if people had found the remarks offensive.

But the Prime Minister rejected that approach, arguing he had already apologised for other parts of his controversial podcast appearance.

“I apologised for elements of the podcast, I gave an unequivocal apology. I did that very clearly, but there is nothing I have done with the Japanese Prime Minister,” he said.

“Importantly, her visit was a really warm one, we had a very friendly and warm dinner, it was very informal. We got to know each other.”

Mr Albanese also pointed to the Japanese government’s public comments which he claimed defended his position.

“They aren’t my words, they’re the words used by the Japanese Prime Minister, by the Japanese Ambassador who was there,” he said.

The Japanese Embassy in Australia told News24 that the Albanese government attempted to reassure Tokyo that Mr Albanese was not making sexual innuendo.

“We have been informed by the Australian side that Prime Minister Albanese did not make the comments in the way that has been reported,” the embassy said.

However, former Japan ambassador to Australia Shingo Yamagami told News24 that the incident had certainly “made an impact” on the relationship.

“There is a difference between … feelings and … facade. I think the Japanese government is sticking to this facade to maintain a cordial relationship,” he said.

“If you take a close look at what’s being said on Japanese SNS (social media), certainly, this has made an impact on our special strategic partnership.

“So what is important? Yes, we need to move on, but I think we need to show mutual respect to each other.”

The comments come as Mr Albanese faces scrutiny over his appearance on the Bush Deep podcast, in which he discussed two Crown Melons gifted to him by Ms Takaichi.

During the podcast appearance, Mr Albanese recalled the melons gift as “quite strange” and joked Ms Takaichi had a “couple of melons”.

The podcast appearance also faced criticism after Mr Albanese took part in a “shag, marry, date” segment in which he chose Kylie Minogue for “all of the above”.

Mr Albanese also discussed his marriage to Ms Haydon after the host joked about whether the couple were “still bonking like rabbits”.

“Well, you know, when we have time… After the footy. It’s always a good aphrodisiac. A South (Sydney Rabbitohs) win,” Mr Albanese said.

Mr Albanese initially issued an apology statement after suggesting he would “shag” Minogue, but did not publicly and personally apologise for his broader remarks.

Asked later about the issue, Mr Albanese said: “Look, I’ve dealt with that issue”, despite never having spoken publicly about it.

“There’s two things you need to do if you’ve made a mistake. One is to apologise. Second is to learn the lessons from it. And I’ve done both,” he said.

Read related topics:Anthony Albanese’s Melons GaffeAnthony Albanese