Japan’s Prince Hisahito steps into spotlight as succession debate heats up

Japan’s Prince Hisahito steps into spotlight as succession debate heats upMedia reports have speculated about whether the young prince has a girlfriend and his security challenges as a university student3-MIN READ3-MIN0ListenPublished: 9:30am, 8 May 2026The young man on course to be Japan’s future emperor is attracting the attention of the country’s voracious media, with rumours of girlfriends and security challenges as a university student, and hints of unrest in the palace over succession.Royalists say the media should leave 19-year-old Prince Hisahito alone to concentrate on his environmental studies course at the University of Tsukuba, while a debate mounts on whether the constitution should be altered to allow his cousin to become Japan’s first empress since the mid-1700s.Despite a firm majority of ordinary Japanese supporting Princess Aiko’s claim to the throne as the firstborn of the reigning Emperor Naruhito, conservatives point out that the law does not permit an empress.Select VoiceSelect Speed0.8x0.9x1.0x1.1x1.2x1.5x1.75x00:0000:001.00x