Federal police asked to investigate leaked Japanese memo on Albanese gesture

The referral to the federal police seeks to determine how the sensitive document, which was compiled by Japanese officials, made its way into Australian newspapers. At this stage, it remains unclear who leaked the document or what specific security classifications the memo carried before it was published. Officials have not confirmed the timeline of the investigation.

Labor ministers have stood by the prime minister, defending his character and expressing growing irritation with the ongoing media focus on the event. Government frontbenchers have voiced clear annoyance at being repeatedly questioned by reporters about whether Mr Albanese had made a crude joke during the diplomatic encounter.

Specific details about the nature of the gesture and the exact context in which it occurred remain sparse, as the government has declined to elaborate on the contents of the memo itself. Ministers have instead focused their public comments on the breach of diplomatic confidentiality, arguing that the focus should be on the unauthorised disclosure of diplomatic communications rather than the contents of the document.

Observers will now be watching to see if the Australian Federal Police launch a formal investigation into the leak and whether the source of the confidential Japanese document is identified.