zeph’s pop culture quiz #15

As there were requests for more recent movies as the subject of the quiz, here you are: What does the countdown in the screencap indicate? What is expected to happen when it is at zero?
    Just leave a comment with your educated guess—you can ask for additional hints, too. [Leaving a comment is easy; just click the ‘Leave a comment’ at the end of the post and fill in the form. If it’s the first time you post a comment, it will be held for moderation. But I am constantly checking, and once I’ve approved a comment, your next ones won’t be held, but published immediately by the system.]

UPDATE 1 (15 February 2012):
This week it again is fun, I have to say. First ryoku came out into the open and confessed that more information was needed—but he also had identified the Korean Peninsula in the screencap above. My follow-up hint was that you should concentrate on what is not on the map. Kueperpunk immediately realized that there is a drastic ‘lack of Sushi Bars,’ and yes, indeed: Japan is missing on the map! But why? And what does the countdown signify? It’s not ‘The Sinking of Japan’ and it’s not ‘The Final Countdown.’ Alexander Rabitsch dismissed his own guess, because ‘they had no such screens in 1980.’ Nevertheless he feels like within David Gilmour’s ‘Film Club’ and keeps on searching. To his question I had to answer that the movie is a Japanese anime. Here 風露 jumped in and guessed ‘Earth Maiden Arjuna,’ which it is not, sorry. We are not dealing with a TV series, but with a full-length feature film not based on a pre-existing manga. But it isn’t ‘Summer Wars’ either. Since his opening comment ryoku fell somewhat silent, but I think his search engines are running red hot meanwhile. For your comfort, here are two more screencaps:
 

UPDATE 2 and solution (16 February 2012):
Very nice, the riddle was solved in cooperation. First ↵came ryoku: ‘The movie is ↑Vexille, Japan isn’t visible because of some kind of energy field that covers all of Japan. Don’t have the actual answer though. Gotta go watch it and see about that timer for myself—and I don’t want to get spoiled :D’ And then ↵風露 did the rest: ‘Alright. In order to disable the electromagnetic barrier surrounding Japan, a satellite connection coming from inside Japan has to be established for at least 3 minutes. That’s what the countdown is for^^. As the barrier even blocks the visible range of electromagnetic waves, this is the only possible way to take a glimpse on what is really going on there. No further spoilers from now on ;)’ Congratulations, you two!