View from The Hill: Albanese tried to be ‘hip’, only to let diplomacy slip

Anthony Albanese has been delivered a stinging rebuke from a former Japanese ambassador to Australia over some tasteless joking on a podcast about his prime ministerial counterpart’s gift of two highly valued melons. In a blunt article, Shingo Yamagami, ambassador to Canberra from 2021 to 2023, wrote, “Prime Minister, please enjoy Japan’s sweet and juicy melons without thinking about a women’s anatomy”. Yamagami’s article in The Australian has elevated the affair into an even more awkward…