Albanese Meets Japanese PM After Melon-Gate Storm

Anthony Albanese has met Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi face-to-face for the first time since the controversy dubbed “melon-gate”.

The row began in July, when Albanese spoke about receiving luxury Shizuoka crown melons from Takaichi during an appearance on comedian Nikki Osborne’s Bush Deep podcast.

After Osborne joked that the Japanese leader had arrived “looking like Pamela Anderson” because she brought “two melons”, Albanese gestured towards his chest and said: “She brought two, and they are beautiful.”

The comment triggered a political backlash, with critics accusing the Prime Minister of making an inappropriate remark about his Japanese counterpart.

Albanese refused to apologise, saying he had not insulted Takaichi and pointing out that the joke had been introduced by the podcast host.

The Prime Minister’s office also maintained that his hand movements had been misunderstood, while Tokyo largely attempted to play down the dispute.

Japan’s ambassador to Australia, Kazuhiro Suzuki, said Australian officials had assured Tokyo that Albanese “did not make the comments in the way that has been reported”.

The episode appeared to create no visible tension when Albanese and Takaichi met on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, marking their first in-person encounter since the controversy.

Their meeting took place as Takaichi offered a stark appraisal of international affairs, telling the General Assembly that the institutions created after the Second World War were struggling to respond to modern challenges.

“The stable post-Cold War era is now a thing of the past,” she told delegates.

Takaichi directed some of her sharpest criticism at the UN Security Council, saying it was “not functioning for international peace” and that its structure continued to reflect “the international situation as it stood in 1945”.

She urged the body to undergo urgent reform and called for its permanent and non-permanent membership to be expanded so it more accurately represents the modern world.

Her remarks came as Albanese launched Australia’s campaign for a sought-after non-permanent seat on the Security Council for 2029-30.

Japan’s call for structural change follows growing criticism from several countries over the council’s handling of major global crises.

Takaichi was especially critical of Russia’s use of its veto on issues connected to the war in Ukraine.

Australia is seeking one of the council’s rotating positions, with Albanese arguing that a safer world must be “governed by rules, not by power and force alone”. He has also pledged to work through the United Nations on conflict prevention, climate security and the governance of emerging technologies.

Albanese is scheduled to address the United Nations later this week.

Almost 130 world leaders are attending the high-level gathering, prompting the US Secret Service, NYPD and other agencies to coordinate one of the largest security operations of the year.

Adding to the disruption, police responded to a suspicious package at East 43rd Street and Third Avenue, just blocks from the UN headquarters.

The incident sparked building evacuations and road closures, with authorities shutting 42nd Street through 44th Street between Second and Lexington Avenues.

The Macquarie Bank event where Albanese had spoke earlier was about 1.5 kilometres away.

The NYPD initially urged the public to steer clear of the area.

‘Due to police activity, please avoid the area around 43rd Street and 3rd Avenue. Expect road closures and delays,’ the department posted.

Police later expanded the exclusion zone, stating: ‘Due to a suspicious package, 42nd Street through 44th Street is closed between 2nd Avenue and Lexington Avenue. Please avoid the area.’

It is understood officers were investigating an unattended suitcase. Specialist units were deployed while nearby buildings were cleared and streets were cordoned off.