Maya Yoshida headed in an injury-time goal to get Japan's bid to qualify for a fifth successive World Cup off to a winning start with a 1-0 victory on Friday night.
Alberto Zaccheroni's side went into the qualifying competition hotly tipped to claim a place at Brazil 2014 after winning the Asian Cup for a record fourth time in January, but North Korea looked to have thrown a wrench in the works with a miserly defensive performance amid typhoon conditions at Saitama Stadium.
Second-half shots against the crossbar from debutant substitute Mike Havenaar and Yasuyuki Konno suggested it was not going to be Japan's night, but defender Yoshida pulled the iron out of the fire as he got on the end of a cross four minutes into injury time.