ANDREW GREENE: Anthony Albanese’s melon-gate saga continues to overshadow deepening relationship with Japan

Japan has become arguably Australia’s most important security partner, second only to the United States, as strategic tensions continue to rise in the Indo-Pacific.

The growth of the military and economic relationship between the former World War II enemies has been truly remarkable, which makes Anthony Albanese’s clumsy and ill-advised comments about the country’s female leader so baffling.

As the Prime Minister continued to resist calls to apologise to his Japanese counterpart for the crass jokes he made about Sanae Takaichi’s gift, he has instead pivoted to highlight the importance of bilateral ties, seeming determined to ride out the controversy with an air of political hubris.

“Our relationship between Australia and Japan has never been stronger. We have never been more strategically aligned than we are today,” Mr Albanese told Parliament on Wednesday.

The PM singled out his Government’s “significant” decision last year to select the Japanese-designed Mogami general-purpose frigates to replace the Royal Australian Navy’s ageing Anzac-class fleet.

“A reflection of the trust between our two nations, our information security co-operation increases the interoperability between our defence forces,” the Prime Minister declared during Question Time.

Tokyo was delighted with Australia’s decision to select its Mogami frigate, but concerns have emerged in Japan over just how serious the Albanese Government is about deepening the relationship, as its anxiety on China grows.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the NARA Treaty (the Basic Treaty of Friendship and Co-operation) signed by former prime minister Malcolm Fraser in Tokyo, an initiative begun by his Labor predecessor Gough Whitlam.

Japanese officials had anticipated that Albanese would be keen to also visit their country to mark the anniversary, just as he had travelled to China last year to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Whitlam’s historic trip.

Since coming to office, the Prime Minister has not made a dedicated state visit to Japan but has attended three multilateral gatherings in the country, including a Quad meeting in Tokyo immediately after winning the 2022 election.

During the coming “summit season” for world leaders Albanese is likely to encounter Takaichi several times, including at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, by which time he will hope the Melongate controversy has disappeared.

Over the winter parliamentary break, the controversy had largely subsided, but the scandal reemerged this week following an intervention from former Japanese ambassador Shingo Yamagami.

The outspoken diplomat, who clashed with the Albanese Government during his tenure in Canberra, claimed the PM’s melon remarks failed to recognise the gift’s cultural significance and risked undermining Australia’s close relationship with Japan.

While current officials inside the Japanese administration remain mystified about Albanese’s recent conduct, they also caution that their conservative former ambassador is not speaking formally on Tokyo’s behalf.

“Yamagami is stirring things up to sour Japan–Australia relations because he can’t stand the Labor Party, but someone like that is not who should be speaking for Japan,” one official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

“This is nothing more than a question about Albanese’s conduct as Prime Minister, and it shouldn’t be allowed to become something that affects the Japan–Australia relationship.”

The Albanese Government has now moved to formally assure the Japanese that “Prime Minister Albanese did not make the comments in the way that has been reported”, but his clumsy handling of the saga continues to mystify senior figures in Tokyo.

The same official, who has close oversight over the Australian relationship, tells The Nightly the scandal has not received widespread coverage in the Asian nation and has been largely lost in translation, but continues to raise eyebrows inside government.

“It’s hard to explain publicly what ‘melons’ signify in Japan, and since Takaichi is disliked by the left, hardly anyone pays it much attention,” the senior official explains.

Meanwhile Japanese officials are more focused on what Prime Minister Albanese and his Government is doing on military co-operation and energy security, including crucial exports of gas.