Noriko Hidaka

Noriko Itō (伊東 範子 Itō Noriko, born May 31, 1962), better known by the stage name of Noriko Hidaka (日髙 のり子 Hidaka Noriko), is a Japanese actress, voice actress, singer and narrator from Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. She attended Fujimi Elementary School. Her parents owned a Western-style clothing store named "Tailor Itō".

She began her career as an idol star, but switched to voice acting, and was employed by the talent management firm 81 Produce. She is best known for voicing Minami Asakura (Touch), Akane Tendo (Ranma ½), Satsuki Kusakabe (My Neighbor Totoro), Near (Death Note), Sōjiro Seto (Rurouni Kenshin), Kikyo (InuYasha) and Noriko Takaya (Gunbuster).

Hidaka used to use the kanji variant 日髙 (note that the second kanji is different). She switched to the current usage (日高) around 1995 when she found that it was written that way already on many things and after friends recommended the kanji with the lower stroke count. Her fans have given her the affectionate name "Nonko" (ノン子).