The static keyword in Java is used for memory management. It allows variables and methods to belong to the class rather than instances of the class. Static variables and methods are associated with the class, not objects, so they can be accessed without creating an object of the class. Static variables only have one copy in memory and static methods can access static variables and change their values without creating an object. Examples demonstrate how to declare static variables and methods and how they differ from non-static variables and methods.