August 12, 2026 | 10:06 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese sparked controversy over an exchange with a podcast host about melons given to him by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi during her visit to Australia last May.
Albanese's remarks, published on July 3, were deemed inappropriate and contained sexual innuendo.
In the video, Albanese said Takaichi had brought "a couple of melons" while making a gesture with his hands.
In response, the podcast host joked that Takaichi came looking like Pamela Anderson, a reference to the Baywatch actress.
"She brought two (melons) and they were beautiful," Albanese responded to the host, as quoted from Antara, citing Kyodo News.
The Australian Newspaper reported that Albanese's comments were widely interpreted as a reference to Takaichi's body parts. Opposition lawmakers have urged Albanese to formally apologize to Takaichi.
When asked whether he would apologize for his "disrespectful behavior" by an opposition lawmaker on Tuesday, Albanese said: "I reject the assertion in the question," as quoted from Euronews.
Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong also rejected accusations his comments were intended to be an insult.
"The prime minister has been clear that he did not mean for those comments to be interpreted in the way they have been by those opposite," she said.
Meanwhile, the state news agency, ABC, reported Wednesday that Japanese Ambassador to Australia Kazuhiro Suzuki said the Japanese government was aware of media reports regarding the podcast's content.
"We have been informed by the Australian side that Prime Minister Albanese did not make the comments in the way that has been reported," Suzuki said in a statement quoted by the ABC.
The report said that the dinner hosted by Albanese during Takaichi's visit was held in a very relaxed atmosphere.
Japan believes this helped build a "personal trust relationship" between the two leaders.
In Japan, high-quality melons are often used as a symbol of luxury gifts.
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