He entered Tokai University in 1992, and was successful in several judo competitions, winning a gold medal at the 1995 Summer Universiade in his hometown of Fukuoka, and a gold medal at the 1995 Asian Judo Championships in New Delhi, India.

He entered Asahi Kasei after graduating, and won the All-Japan Judo Championships in 1996 to gain a spot on the Japanese Olympic judo team for the 1996 Summer Olympics, where he won a close decision victory over Kwak Dae-Sung of South Korea to receive a gold medal.

However, Kwak was penalized in turn for an illegal move with only three seconds remaining in the match, and Nakamura won the gold medal with a 2-1 decision in his favor.

Nakamura won several more tournaments after his first trip to the Olympics, most notably a gold medal at the 1997 World Judo Championships and three consecutive victories in the -73 kg division of the All-Japan Championships from 1998 to 2000.

He won the Kodokan Cup in the -81 kg division the same year, but lost in the semi-finals and bronze medal match of the 2001 World Judo Championships to end up in 5th place.