Born in Nagoya ( Japan ), she had her first piano lesson at the age of five. She studied in Okazaki, in the prefecture of Aichi. During her postgraduate studies, her talent was spotted by the prominent Polish pianist and professor Jan Ekier, during his visit to Japan. It led to Yuko Kawai's arrival to Poland in 1991 and futher studies under prof. Jan Ekier's guidance at the Chopin Music Academy in Warsaw. She gained her diploma in 1994. In 1995 she won the Third Prize at the Chopin International Piano Competition in Marianske Lazne, the Czech Republic. In the same year she took part in the 13th Chopin International Piano Competition in Warsaw. Even though she did not receive any prize, she won praise from jury members, the critics and audience. Her performances were highly acclaimed in several press articles, including those by the famous critic Janusz Ekiert and the Polish Radio broadcasted a special feature devoted to her. In February and March 1996 Yuko Kawai made a 14-concert tour of Poland.
She subsequently developed an intensive concert career, with performances in Poland, Japan and many other countreis. She gave the world premiere of Chopin's piano conertos in E minor and F minor in the version for one piano as published in the National Edition of the composer's works. Since 2001 she has given recitals of Chopin ‘s entire output on the basis of the National Edition. She has sat on the juries of many prestigious conpetitions, including the "Arthur Rubinstein in Memoriam" International Competition for Young Pianists in Bydgoszcz and the Chopin International Piano Competition in ASIA ( 1999-2003 ).
She has made recordings for several labels (Platz, Imagine, BeArTon). Her Chopin recordings have been highly acclamed. The Japanese music magazine "Chopin" described her interpretation of the Sonata in B minor (on the BeArTon album Lento.. and other works) as one of the best ever recordings of this work, while the Japanese monthly "Record Art" praised her entire discography.
Yuko Kawai also writes on music. She has cotributed articles on Chopin for major Japanese music periodicals for over ten years.