Ships
- IJN Kiso Captain from 20 September 1942 · Relieved on 4 October 1943
Iwao Kawai was a captain in the Imperial Japanese Navy who commanded the light cruiser Kiso from 20 September 1942 to 4 October 1943.
The sources used here do not record his date or place of birth or anything about his family.
He graduated from the Naval Academy at Etajima in its 47th class, and before this command he had been a staff officer of the Fourth Fleet.
He took command on 20 September 1942. For the next year she worked in the Aleutians, carrying troops and supplies from Paramushiro to Attu and Kiska. On 29 July 1943, in the evacuation of Kiska, she anchored off the island with the rest of Rear Admiral Kimura's force and took aboard 1,189 men of the garrison, and all the ships got back to Paramushiro. In September she carried troops of the 17th Division to Rabaul. He was relieved at Kure on 4 October 1943.
He was later promoted rear admiral.