Japan formally raised Anthony Albanese\u2019s appearance in a cringe-worthy podcast discussing the Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi\u2019s \u201cmelons\u201d in official correspondence.<\/p>\n
The Albanese Government seized on the letter on Monday noting Japan has suggested the matter had been \u201csensationalised\u201d by the media and would not result in a complaint.<\/p>\n
Mr Albanese maintains he wasn\u2019t joking about the female prime minister\u2019s anatomy, despite the comedian referencing Pamela Anderson, a former Baywatch star and Playboy model.<\/p>\n
But diplomatic sources suggested the prime minister\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
News.com.au understands that the opposition\u2019s foreign affairs spokesman Ted O\u2019Brien quietly met with the Japanese ambassador to Australia Kazuhiro Suzuki on Monday to express his \u201cdeep regret\u201d over the comments.<\/p>\n
He did not wish to elaborate on the private meeting other than to note that the \u201cdeep and enduring\u201d relationship is one of Australia\u2019s most important partnerships.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe prime minister\u2019s words were inappropriate and a national embarrassment,\u201d Mr O\u2019Brien said. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
In the correspondence between Japan and the prime minister\u2019s department, Japan also moved to clarify another \u201cjoke\u201d in the podcast that the Japanese prime minister had \u201csmuggled\u201d the melons into Australia insisting they were legally obtained here.<\/p>\n
In the diplomatic cable dated July 13, the Japanese government suggested there had been \u201csensationalised reporting in the Australian media\u201d.<\/p>\n
It then stated that Australia could be reassured that Japan did not believe there was any \u201cill intention\u201d in Mr Albanese\u2019s comments.<\/p>\n
The letter stressed there would be \u201cno action\u201d over the matter and that Japan would assist the Australian government in not making comment to \u201callow the Australian media to move on\u201d.<\/p>\n
But rather than being reassuring, one former top government official speaking on the condition of anonymity said it was all completely \u201cembarrassing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt best it\u2019s quite embarrassing to be in a position where a foreign embassy or department is officially sending such a message,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another MP suggested Japan was at pains to help Australia defuse the matter.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf this was accepted as an insult to one\u2019s national honour, it has the potential to have dire consequences for the relationship,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo it\u2019s in everyone\u2019s interest to say it\u2019s no big deal.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe comments were beneath the office of prime minister,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were insulting, and the prime minister should make a personal apology. He\u2019s done it through a statement. I mean, the hypocrisy of Labor and the prime minister on this topic knows no bounds, no bounds whatsoever,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Mr Albanese has furiously denied making a crude joke about Ms Takaichi\u2019s \u201cmelons\u201d in the same interview where he admitted he would \u201cshag\u201d Kylie Minogue.<\/p>\n
He previously apologised for his remarks about Kylie Minogue after he was asked about her on Nova\u2019s podcast Bush Deep with Australian comedian Nikki Osborne.<\/p>\n
During the innuendo-laden interview, Mr Albanese stated that Ms Takaichi had brought \u201ca couple of melons,\u201d before making a squeezing hand gesture in front of his chest.<\/p>\n
Ms Osborne then jokingly replied: \u201cShe brought two. She just came in looking like Pamela Anderson.\u201d<\/p>\n
But in a terse statement on Monday, the Prime Minister\u2019s spokeswoman denied the comments were a joke about breasts, stating, \u201cThis assertion is wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n
But the claim didn\u2019t wash on Sunrise, with host Nat Barr grilling Labor frontbencher Tanya Plibersek and Barnaby Joyce about the podcast.<\/p>\n
The controversy has been reignited after Tokyo\u2019s former ambassador in Canberra, Shingo Yamagami, penned an opinion piece slamming the \u201cinsulting\u201d comments and speculating they have damaged the Prime Minister\u2019s standing in Japan.<\/p>\n