TOKYO — While Japan got its moment in the rugby spotlight with its test here against the All Blacks, the match also had benefits for the New Zealand Rugby Union as it promoted its most famous brand in Asia.

The All Blacks are one of the highest-profile teams in global sports, and although rugby hovers between being the fourth or fifth most popular sport in Japan, the match at Chichibunomiya Stadium sold out in a matter of hours.

While it was a largely developmental All Blacks side that played — their two stars, Dan Carter and Richie McCaw, being the exception — the New Zealanders were still too strong Saturday for the 15th-ranked Brave Blossoms, who were beaten 54-6.

It was a marked improvement for Japan from the two previous occasions the teams had met at the Rugby World Cup. In 1995 it was hammered, 145-17, and two years ago in New Zealand, it lost 83-7.