Behind the Glamour
NPB teams maintain dance performance teams like SoftBank's Honeys, Lotte's M☆Splash!!, and DeNA's diana. Behind the glamour, most cheerleaders work under independent contractor agreements rather than employee status, earning 500,000-1,500,000 yen annually, insufficient for living expenses. Most maintain separate jobs alongside their cheerleading duties.
Low Pay and Long Hours
Game days require 6-8 hours at the stadium, with unpaid rehearsals adding to the commitment. Weekly practices of 3-4 sessions are often uncompensated, pushing effective hourly rates below minimum wage. Over 70 home games per season plus events, combined with self-funded fitness maintenance and partial costume costs, create significant hidden expenses. High applicant numbers suppress wage improvement pressure.
Contract Instability
Annual contracts with re-audition requirements and age limits forcing 'graduation' in the late twenties leave no long-term career path. Some teams offer alumni roles as instructors or event coordinators, but systematic second-career support is lacking. Similar issues exist in MLB and NFL, where Oakland Raiders cheerleaders sued over sub-minimum-wage pay in 2014.
Steps Toward Improvement
Some teams have raised compensation and provided transportation allowances. SNS has increased individual cheerleaders' marketing value, prompting reassessment. However, the fundamental independent contractor structure limits labor protections. If cheerleaders are essential to the stadium experience, providing compensation matching their contribution is a matter of corporate social responsibility.