String wire gagues in Japanese pianos

[Robin Olson]

     I overheard a conversation recently at a Guild meeting that has 
me wondering about a few things.What I heard was that American and 
Japanese wire sizes are different.Meaning that if a Kawai has 15 gague 
marked on the bridge(or plate)you should put 14.5 gague American wire 
to match the string you are replaceing.I usually use a micrometer when 
replaceing strings so I haven't paid much attention to the written 
guage markings.I worked on a Boston today that had a broken string in 
the upper treble.I mic'ed it and it measured 15 gague which was what 
was marked on the bridge.When I got it up to tension,the string level 
was not correct.When testing the hammer to string fit,the two lengths 
that were replaced were blocking on the hammer,but the original string 
was ringing.I am thinking now that the tech before me replaced the 
same string without checking it on the micrometer.I guess I failed to 
mention that the same string had broken about three years ago(Same 
situation where the owner reports the string broke while playing). 
    What puzzles me is that I have worked for a Kawai dealer for over 
twenty years,and have never heard of any problem with wire sizes.But 
it is clear to me that the problem with string breakage on the Boston 
I saw today is due to the wrong size wire being replaced.
     Any thoughts?            Robin Olson RPT