Australia’s prime minister refuses to apologise to Japanese counterpart over melon gaffe

Anthony Albanese refused to apologise to Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi over jokes he made about a melon gift on a comedy podcast in July. The Coalition called the remarks grubby and demanded an apology in question time. The prime minister dismissed the uproar as a distraction and rejected the calls.

In May the two leaders met in Canberra, and the Japanese PM gave Albanese a gift of premium Japanese melons. Those melons became the subject of an off-colour joke that resurfaced a month later and blew up into a political storm.

Diplomacy runs on respect, and comments about a foreign leader can strain a close alliance like Australia-Japan. It also shows how one remark on a podcast can dominate the news cycle and test how a leader handles criticism.