Jul 31, 2026 – 4.42pmTokyo | As Japan’s first female prime minister in a parliament of largely conservative men, Sanae Takaichi is used to dealing with more than the occasional bout of misogyny.So when Anthony Albanese made a crude joke last month on a podcast about the prime minister’s prized melons, the response was stony silence, both in Australia and in Japan.Subscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber? Fetching latest articles
Albanese’s crude melon joke about Japan’s PM could haunt
The prime minister’s crude joke on a podcast about Sanae Takaichi gifting fruit was met with silence. But that doesn’t mean the gaffe has been forgotten.
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