From engineering student to Joint Staff chief

Kawano graduated from Japan's National Defense Academy in 1977 with a degree in mechanical engineering, finishing at the top of his class. He earned a master's degree in international studies from the University of Tsukuba in 1990 and went on to ship commands and command of Escort Flotilla 3 in 1999. Promotion brought command of the mine-warfare force, the escort fleet, and the JMSDF before he became chief of the Joint Staff in 2014. The detour into mine warfare after an Aegis-destroyer collision gave a surface officer experience in a specialist force that he helped improve and promote. He retired in 2019 after more than four decades of service.