Anthony Albanese says of Japanese PM's melon gift: "I got a couple of melons"

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is facing opposition calls to personally apologise for a podcast joke about two prized Japanese melons given to him by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. Former Japanese Ambassador Shingo Yamagami wrote that Albanese’s comments and hand gestures treated a culturally meaningful gift dismissively and could harm ties between the strategic partners. During the episode, Albanese described the melons as odd yet pleasant and joked about receiving them; some critics saw his motions as crude. Opposition Leader Angus Taylor demanded a direct apology, while Labor frontbencher Tanya Plibersek defended the prime minister, calling Yamagami’s interpretation wrong. The blowup follows earlier controversy over other remarks from the same podcast, for which Albanese had already apologised.