In some English-language Japanese newspapers her family name is romanized as Noono.

She was born in Qiqihar, Manchuria in 1935 and moved to Kagoshima Prefecture at the end of World War II.

Nohno worked as a nurse for more than thirty years before beginning her political career.

In 2001 she served as the Vice Minister for Labor for half a year.

She was Minister for Combating Birth Decline and for Gender Equality.