Prince Hisahito, heir to Japan's throne, is gaining significant media attention as a succession debate intensifies. Rumors about his personal life and concerns about palace unrest surround his upcoming university studies.

The 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...