Nogami was a second lieutenant in the Imperial Japanese Army in the early 20th century. In 1937, Nogami was one of three hundred Humans, along with Amelia Earhart, Fred Noonan and Jack Hayes who were abducted from Earth by an alien species called the Briori and taken to an unnamed class L planet in the Delta Quadrant. Nogami and seven of the other abductees were put in cryogenic stasis and came to be known to the abductees' descendants as "the 37's". They remained in stasis until the crew of the USS Voyager revived them in 2371. While onboard Voyager, he was provided with a universal translator so that he could communicate in his native Japanese.
After being revived, Nogami chose to remain with the Human settlement on the planet when Voyager left to resume its journey back to the Alpha Quadrant, reflecting that he would be very happy living among the descendants of the original Japanese abductees, who had apparently grown into a sizable community since their arrival on the planet. (VOY: "The 37's")