Chieko Nohno (南野 知恵子 Nōno Chieko, born November 14, 1935) is a Japanese politician. In some English-language Japanese newspapers her family name is romanized as Noono.
She was born in Manchuria in 1935 and moved back to Kagoshima at the end of the war. She graduated from Kagoshima Konan High School in 1954 and attended the School of Midwifery attached to the Medical Department of Osaka University. Nohno worked as a nurse for more than thirty years before beginning her political career.
She was first elected to the House of Councillors in 1992, reelected in 1998 and 2004. In 2001 she served as the Vice Minister for Labor for just half a year. Prime Minister Koizumi appointed her Minister of Justice on 27 September 2004. Her selection was somewhat controversial. Her background is in medicine, with no formal legal training. She is only the second woman to serve in the position. The first was Tachiko Nagao, who served for just ten months in 1996.
Nohno has spoken out in favor of immigration and assimilation of immigrants into Japanese society.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Daizō Nozawa |
Minister of Justice of Japan 2004-2005 |
Succeeded by Seiken Sugiura |