Career
A native of Shiogama, Miyagi and graduate of Tohoku Gakuin University, he was first elected to the assembly of Miyagi Prefecture in 1983. During his second term as an assemblyman, he contested the national House of Councillors election in 1989 as an independent but was defeated. In the 2000 general election he was defeated in his district by Sayuri Kamata.
In the 2003 general election he was again defeated by Kamata in Miyagi Number.2, but was elected to return to the House of Representatives as a member for the Tōhoku proportional block.
He retained his seat in the 2005 general election and was appointed Senior Vice-Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry in Shinzo Abe"s first ministry in 2007. In 2012 he was appointed as Miyagi Number.2 district leader of the Sunrise Party and resigned from the Liberal Democratic Party. Following the Sunrise Party"s merger with the Japan Restoration Party in November 2012, Nakano was elected to the national proportional representation block as a JRP member in the July 2013 House of Councillors election.
With JRP"s split in August 2014 he joined the newly formed Party for Future Generations. He was appointed as the party"s secretary-general in November 2015.
In December 2005 the party changed its name to the Party for Japanese Kokoro.
