Watabe, third in the race for the overall crown last season, finished 31.7 seconds in front of home hope Eero Hirvonen in the Finnish resort.

The bronze medal was claimed by Germany's Johannes Rydzek, who lost out to Hirvonen by a narrow 1.1 second margin following the conclusion of the 10 kilometres cross-country section of the event.

The Japanese set the tone for a dominant win during the second competition of the new campaign by topping the ski jumping standings.

Watabe jumped a distance of 142.5 metres amid improved weather conditions to earn a total of 158.6 points.

The performance from the 29-year-old, silver medallist at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, saw him start with a 16-second lead on second-placed Wlhelm Denifl of Austria.

Rydzek, second on the overall standings in the 2016 to 2017 season, was among the chasing pack but had to start 50 seconds behind the Japanese.

Watabe always looked likely to ski to victory as the rest of the field opted not to work together to close down his considerable advantage.

The Japanese ended up cruising to a commanding win as Hirvonen powered up the last hill to cross the line in second.

Rydzek recovered from a fall early on to take bronze.

"It was a perfect day for me," said Watabe, who leads the mini-tour of the three events held in Ruka this weekend.

"I had a really good jump on the hill to start in first place.

"The skiing was also perfect."

The World Cup in Ruka concludes tomorrow.