As the culture of lifetime employment crumbles, younger Japanese are increasingly pursuing parallel careers.
Nanako Shibata is not only an employee at a Tokyo staffing agency PR but also a professional dancer who practices seven hours a day, four days a week to perform on stage.
Shibata, 27, started working at the staffing agency, b-style Inc., as a full-time regular employee in 2013, but soon found it too hard to continue dancing at the same time. She initially considered quitting her job, but on the advice of the company's president, she switched her status in 2015 to part-time contract worker, working three days a week.