Nakamura was ordained a priest on 19 March 1988. He was responsible for formation at the minor seminary of the Archdiocese of Nagasaki (1988-1989) and parish vicar in Nakamachi (1989-1991). He did additional studies in moral theology in Rome (1991-1994). He returned to his role at the minor seminary (1994-1999), was parish vicar in the cathedral parish of
Urakami (1999-2002), and pastor in
Togitsu (2002-2005). He was responsible for formation at the major seminary in Fukuoka (2005-2007) and then pastor in
Uematsu (2007-2014). From 2009 to 2019 he taught moral theology at the major seminaries of Fukuoka and Tokyo. From 2014 to 2019 he was also pastor of
Miura-machi. == Episcopate ==