It was never going to be a repeat of 16 years ago when the All Blacks practically murdered the men from Japan, racking up 145 points.
But if it was not murder last night then the All Blacks would be facing a fairly serious assault charge after they bumped and bruised the Japanese out of the game.
The men in black were strong in taking the ball to the line, and managed to snaffle turnovers at exactly the right time.
The All Blacks played with much more precision and pace than in the sloppy win over Tonga in the tournament opener, and made the most of a leaky Japanese defence, which slipped off far too many tackles.
Whether it was an adequate dress rehearsal for the French next Saturday night is debatable but the players would have gained confidence from the run.
There were still concerns about the All Black performance - a too few many handling mistakes, bungled lineouts, and first five-eighth Colin Slade gave a mixed performance - but the home team scored some cracking tries and its scrum was powerful throughout.
Referee Nigel Owens kept a vigilant offside line and that played into the New Zealand's hands, as its backs got room to move and could outflank the opposition.
There were purple patches throughout the game for the All Blacks and left winger Richard Kahui, who picked up another two tries, looks as though he has cemented a spot in the first choice starting line-up with another impressive display.
Best try of the night was a tight contest among the 13 scored but a classy effort came when fullback Isaia Toeava went under the bar.
The All Blacks turned the ball over and Kahui chased up a nice Andy Ellis kick.
Some nice in-passing from the forwards put Toeava over the line.
Best though for the home team was loose forward Jerome Kaino, who is fast becoming one of the best loose forwards in the world.
Not far behind Kaino was lock Brad Thorn, while prop Tony Woodcock looked all the best for his run last week.
Out the back, Ma'a Nonu continued his good run of form and broke the line almost at will.
Slade missed a few kicks, dropped some ball but threw some nice passes and linked well with his outsides.
The home side was undoubtedly helped in scoring by an enterprising Japanese side which attacked every time it had the ball and turned down kickable penalties, as it hunted for a five pointer.
It moved the ball on every occasion and that gave the All Blacks the opportunity to steal some ball from the breakdown.
But the visiting side had its reward after 57 minutes when winger Hirotoki Onozawa intercepted a Slade pass and skipped away to score. Murray Williams added the conversion.
The All Blacks had earlier nabbed the four-try bonus point by the 30-minute mark, though Slade's kicking boots were somewhat astray, as he missed three kicks in a row.
The home side scored the first points after just three minutes when Conrad Smith went across after the All Blacks snaffled some turnover ball and Vito broke through the middle before linking with his outsides.
The All Blacks were untidy in the opening clashes but after a simple back move just past the 15-minute mark, winger Kahui went over.
The home side's machine was slowly getting into gear and the floodgates threatened to open as four tries were scored in the next quarter of an hour.
The best of that lot came when Nonu gave a great inside ball to Toeava, who then found Ellis with Slade then dotting down.
THE GAME
• New Zealand 83
Richard Kahui 2, Sonny Bill Williams 2, Conrad Smith, Jerome Kaino, Keven Mealamu, Andy Ellis, Colin Slade, Isaia Toeava, Andrew Hore, Ma'a Nonu, Adam Thomson tries, Colin Slade 9 con.
• Japan 7
Japan: Hirotoki Onozawa try, Murray Williams con.
• Halftime: 38-0.
• Crowd: 29,000.
IN SUMMARY
The All Blacks were too big, too strong and too ruthless for a gutsy but limited Japanese outfit. Some nice tries scored and more passes stuck than last week although may have limited value in the later stages of the tournament. But an entertaining 80 minutes without a doubt.
STAR ALL BLACK
Loose forward Jerome Kaino just keeps getting stronger and his ability to rumble the ball up and get over the advantage line is fast becoming vital for the All Black cause. Every team needs a real bruiser.
STAR OPPONENT
Halfback Atsushi Hiwasa has a nice pass and was elusive around the breakdown. Also got round the field in defence and sniped at his opponents.
