Chūō (中央町; -machi) was a town located in Shimomashiki District, Kumamoto, Japan.
On November 1, 2004 Chūō was merged with the town of Tomochi, also from Shimomashiki District, to form the new town of Misato and no longer exists as an independent municipality.
As of 2003, the town had an estimated population of 5,120 and the density of 122.75 persons per km². The total area was 41.71 km².