The Kawai Musical Instrument Manufacturing Company distributes acoustic and digital pianos to over 80 countries.

[3] Since the 1970s, Kawai has pioneered the use of alternative materials to improve the consistency and stability of piano performance.

In 1971, the company began to use acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), a composite material, for parts of its piano actions to overcome the problems associated with the use of wood.

Kawai advertises[5] that its use of composite parts makes its piano actions more stable and consistent than those made by other manufacturers.

In 2002, Kawai introduced its Millennium III grand piano action with ABS-Carbon,[6] a new composite material that combined ABS with carbon fiber.

Kawai contends that these advances in materials and design help its Millennium III action respond more accurately to the player's intentions with greater consistency over time.

Kawai grand pianos have evolved steadily over the decades from the Model 500/600 built in the 1960s and 1970s, to the KG Series in the 1980s and early 1990s that became popular among teachers and institutions.

During these years, Kawai grand pianos earned a reputation for long-term, stable performance even in heavy use.

In 1996, Kawai introduced the RX Series grand pianos featuring the Ultra-Responsive ABS Action.

[13] In 2013, Kawai introduced the GX BLAK Performance Series line of grand pianos.

The K1 is one of the first popular synthesizers that has no filter whatsoever; all sounds are made by stacking wave samples and applying frequency modulation.

[28] Later developments resulted in Kawai Spectra KC10 (1990)[29] based on the K4 engine, along with a group of original multitimbral instruments, including Kawai PH-50 Pop Keyboard and its half-rack version PHm, and XS-1 sound module (1989),[30] and a group of General MIDI (GM) compatible instruments including Kawai KC20 GM Sound Keyboard (early 1990s), GMega sound module (early 1990s)[31] as an update of previous XS-1, and K11 (1993)[32] based on GMega and K1, etc.

Kawai originally planned to release K5000X, which would combine the features of the S and W models with a 76-key keyboard and enhanced memory, but this was cancelled in the late '90s due to bad sales.

Kawai previously offered the MORE series, a home organ product line applying the high-end technology of their theater models, T-50 and T-30.