Canberra: Australian opposition figures on Monday called on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to personally apologize over comments about two melons gifted to him by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, according to ABC News of Australia.

According to Anadolu Agency, Opposition leader Angus Taylor said Albanese's comments were 'insulting' and beneath the office of prime minister. 'They were insulting and the prime minister should make a personal apology,' Taylor said. Liberal deputy Jane Hume separately described the remarks as 'grubby' and 'inappropriate.'

The controversy stems from a podcast interview last month in which Albanese discussed two Crown Melons presented to him by Takaichi during her May visit to Australia. Albanese said the gift was 'pretty strange but ended up being quite good.' Asked how Takaichi brought the fruit into Australia, he said he did not know, adding that she brought 'a couple of melons. she brought two, as you do,' and gesturing with both hands in front of his chest.

Podcast host Nikki Osborne then joked that Takaichi 'came in looking like Pamela Anderson,' a remark Albanese did not challenge. The Japan Times noted that the Crown Melons, grown in Shizuoka, are among Japan's most prized fruits and were presented after Australia reopened its market to Japanese melons in January.

Former Australian Ambassador to Japan Shingo Yamagami criticized Albanese's comments in The Australian, saying they demonstrated 'ignorance' about the significance of Takaichi's gift and undermined the close relationship between the two countries. Albanese's office rejected Yamagami's characterization in a statement to The Australian.