Japan’s Akito Watabe has claimed his fourth straight victory on the FIS Nordic Combined World Cup tour ©Getty Images

Japan's Akito Watabe claimed his fourth straight victory on the International Ski Federation (FIS) Nordic Combined World Cup tour, continuing his impressive form going into the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympic Games with home success in Hakuba.

Watabe came into the event in confident mood after winning all three World Cup legs at last weekend's Seefeld Triple in Austria.

Today, he triumphed after coming out on top in the ski jumping with 136.4 points and finishing the 10-kilometres cross-country race in a time of 24min 14.6sec.

Norway's Jan Schmid finished second in 25:27.2, while Germany's Manuel Faisst came third in 25:36.6.

Akito Watabe was in dominant form today ©Getty Images
Akito Watabe was in dominant form today ©Getty Images

Watabe, the Sochi 2014 Olympic silver medallist in the 10km normal hill event, has increased his tally of World Cup wins this season to five, marking a personal record for a single campaign.

He has 845 points at the summit of the overall World Cup standings and holds a 60-point advantage over nearest challenger Schmid heading into tomorrow's competition - the last one before Pyeongchang 2018 which opens on February 9.

Watabe's ski jumping points total gave him a 16-second head start on Estonia's Kristjan Ilves, who managed a career-best fourth-place finish in the final standings.

Schmid, out to minimise the damage in the overall World Cup standings, caught Faisst on the last steep uphill and crossed the finish line 9.4 seconds ahead of his rival.