---
name: "Shin'ya Kawai"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/shinya-kawai"
fi1m_id: "shinya-kawai"
imdb_id: "nm0442777"
tmdb_id: 553068
wikidata_id: "Q11553349"
roles: ["Producer"]
born: "10 December 1958"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 2
average_fi1m_score: 88
average_as: "producer"
average_over: 2
updated: "2026-09-26T03:08:21.470563+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Shin'ya Kawai

## Identity

Shin'ya Kawai

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/shinya-kawai
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** shinya-kawai
- **IMDb ID:** nm0442777
- **TMDB ID:** 553068
- **Wikidata ID:** Q11553349
- **Same entity:** https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q11553349, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0442777/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/553068

Producer. Born 10 December 1958 in Osaka Prefecture.

## Details

- **Work:** Producer
- **Born:** 10 December 1958, Osaka Prefecture
- **Active:** 1998–2000
- **Also known as:** Shinya Kawai, 河井信哉（別名）
- **Average Fi1m score:** 88, as producer, over 2 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1990s 84 (1), 2000s 92 (1)
- **Elsewhere:** https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q11553349, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0442777/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/553068

## Streaming the US now

- **The Roku Channel:** [*Ring*](https://film.one/film/ring.md) (84)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

Shin'ya Kawai (also credited as Shinya Kawai or 河井信哉) is a Japanese film producer. Born on 10 December 1958 in Osaka Prefecture and raised in Nara, he graduated from Keio University Faculty of Law. He joined Fuji Television in 1981 and began producing films in 1987, later founding the Cine Switch Ginza cinema that year.

Kawai produced Shunji Iwai’s *Love Letter* (1995) and *Swallowtail Butterfly* (1996), as well as the horror hit *Ring* (1998) and its sequel *Spiral* (1998). He served as producer on Edward Yang’s *Yi Yi* (2000), which won the Best Director prize at Cannes. Other credits include *2LDK* (2003), *Aragami* (2003) and executive producer roles on *Love Exposure* (2008). He has received awards including the Fujimoto Prize special award and the Japan Film and Television Producers Association Producer Award.

Kawai retired from Fuji TV in 2019 and has held positions including visiting professor at Musashino Art University. He has been involved in international co-productions and film festival roles.

*Sources: ja.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, koreanfilm.or.kr, chosun.com.*

## On Fi1m (2)

- *Yi Yi* (2000), Fi1m 92, Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/yi-yi.md)
- *Ring* (1998), Fi1m 84, Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/ring.md)

## Complete filmography (30)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Love Exposure* (2008), Executive Producer
- *700 Days of Battle: Us vs. the Police* (2008), Executive Producer
- *The Letters* (2006), Executive Producer
- *Movie box-ing* (2004), Executive Producer
- *2LDK* (2003), Producer
- *Aragami* (2003), Producer
- *Jam Films* (2002), Producer
- *Yi Yi* (2000), Producer — Fi1m 92, [page](https://film.one/film/yi-yi.md)
- *The Island Tales* (2000), Producer
- *Sennen-Tabito* (1999), Producer
- *Ring* (1998), Producer — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/ring.md)
- *Lie Lie Lie* (1997), Executive Producer
- *円都 YEN TOWN* (1996), Producer
- *Swallowtail Butterfly* (1996), Producer
- *ACRI: The Legend of Homo-Aquarellius* (1996), Producer
- *Love Letter* (1995), Associate Producer
- *Kappa* (1994), Producer
- *The City That Never Sleeps: Shinjuku Shark* (1993), Producer
- *Yamai wa kikara: Byôin e ikô 2* (1992), Producer
- *Twinkle* (1992), Producer
- *Cover as Many Waves as Possible* (1991), Producer
- *Let's Go to the Hospital* (1990), Producer
- *The Enchantment* (1989), Producer
- *Urban Marine Resort Story* (1989), Producer
- *The Juliet Game* (1989), Producer
- *The Yen Family* (1988), Producer
- *Sukeban Deka the Movie 2: Counter-Attack of the Kazama Sisters* (1988), Producer
- *There Goes Benio, the Smart Girl* (1987), Producer
- *Take Me Out to the Snowland* (1987), Producer
- *Onyanko the Movie - One Shot Crisis!* (1986), Associate Producer

## Awards

### Other awards — 0 won, 1 nominated

- European Film Award for Best Non-European Film 2000: European Film Award for Best Non-European Film (nominated), for *Yi Yi*

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/shinya-kawai