North Korea in Japanese Cinema since 1990

[James Simpson]

I am impressed by the amount of responses. All good recommendations 
although perhaps I can clarify my goal to see if anyone can pinpoint a 
few solid movies.

My current thesis is that North Korea inspires within Japan (fear that 
is then manipulated by the powers-that-be). Essentially, I am looking 
for images of North Korea as presented by Japan, or as found popular 
within Japan (hence my question on Shiri). The more popular the film, 
the better, as it may indicate a wider 'othering' of the popular against 
North Korea.

Anyway, some excellent recommendations. I will be watching Abduction 
very soon. The abduction issue is my key case study for the 
dissertation, so it really is a must in terms of research. My Japanese 
language skills are negligable (although for my Masters, I can get away 
with that). Subtitles are a must, but it is not necessarily essential 
for them to be on the DVD itself.

Regarding Aegis, as far as I was aware, weren't the bad guys basically 
Chinese, rather than North Korean?

Atarashii kami-sama sounds intriguing, Sensen fukoku also. Dear 
Pyongyang sounds excellent, and indeed the suggestion that I might want 
to look at North Korean zainichi or Cheongryun is much appreciated and 
noted. Go, Pacchigi, and Chi to Hone are the others that seem 
interesting for my purposes. No doubt I'll chase the others down for the 
sake of good cinema regardless of my research :)

Thank you all,

James Simpson