Shinji Sōmai (相米 慎二, Sōmai Shinji, 13 January 1948 – 9 September 2001) was a Japanese film director. He directed 13 films between 1980 and 2000 and almost always he focused on the young generation problems, being the successful A Sailor suit and a Machine-gun (1981) and Typhoon Club (1985) as the best examples of that.
His film Moving was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival. His 1998 film, Wait and See, won the FIPRESCI prize at the 49th Berlin International Film Festival in 1999.
The Edinburgh International Film Festival artistic director Chris Fujiwara noted that American film director Nicholas Ray and French film director Jean Vigo shared Somai's sensibilities.
