Akito Watabe was unable to hold on to his lead after the ski jump and finished second in the third event of the Summer Grand Prix Nordic combined series in Germany on Friday.
Watabe posted a jump of 134.5 meters to start the 10-km cross-country leg with a 17-second lead, but Germany's Johannes Ryzdek came back from third place to claim victory, shaking off Watabe on the last uphill to cruise home 13 seconds clear.
Mario Seidl of Austria, second after the ski jump, finished in third place.
Also for Japan, Yoshito Watabe was 11th, Taihei Kato was 17th, Hideaki Nagai was 33rd, Takehiro Watanabe was 37th and Go Yamamoto placed 42nd.