Keys had dropped just one set in five previous meetings and rarely looked troubled in extending that record with a 6-3 6-4 victory in 75 minutes in Osaka.
The fifth-seeded American’s aggressive style, which led to her hitting 24 winners, proved decisive as she set up a second-round clash with qualifier Zarina Diyas.
“I feel good, I’m always a little bit nervous ahead of my first matches,” Keys said. “It’s always hard to get out there and get all the nerves out, I started a little slow but I was really happy to get the win.”
Seventh seed Donna Vekic also progressed after easing past Caroline Garcia 7-5 6-2. The Croatian will next face Misaki Doi, the runner-up at the Japan Women’s Open on Sunday, following her 6-1 6-2 thrashing of Kristina Mladenovic.
Former world number one and two-time grand slam champion Garbine Muguruza is out, however, after squandering a match point on her way to losing to Hsieh Su-wei.
Having won the first set, Muguruza appeared in control but then collapsed in the decider to go down 3-6 7-6 (7-1) 6-1.
The defeat continues a miserable run for the Spaniard, who has not won a match since beating Elina Svitolina in the third round of the French Open, while Hsieh can now look forward to a second-round encounter with Elise Mertens.
“In the first set, she was hitting the ball very hard, and I was not expecting a game like this,” Hsieh said. “I was still trying to find a way to get into the match.
“In the second set, I felt a little bit more rhythm, and more stable.”
Nao Hibino, Doi’s conqueror at the weekend, followed Muguruza out of the tournament after losing 6-4 7-5 to Varvara Flink of Russia.
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