While all eight team members produced skied solidly across the two races, it was the leading individual stars who added a golden touch as first Yuki Kobayashi and then Akira Lenting pulled their respective teams clear.

Kobayashi duly took her third gold of the Games while Lenting added a second gold and a third medal.

In the women's 4x5 kilometres race, Japan trailed China early on before Kobayashi - who has already won 5km classical and 10km freestyle titles this week - skied a blistering 15min 51.60 third leg.

Chisa Obayashi then held off Li Hongxue on the fourth leg for a total time of 1:08:16.60 for a team also including Hikari Miyazaki and Kozue Takizawa.

“Victory here makes me happier than winning the individual events,” said Kobayashi.

“It was our strategy as a team to widen the lead in my leg. 

"It went as planned.”

China placed second in 1:08:41.40 while South Korea overhauled Kazakhstan for bronze thanks to a superb 15:48.20 clocking from 10km freestyle silver medallist Lee Chae-won.

Her time was the quickest of the race and helped next year's Winter Olympic hosts to a total clocking of 1:09:13.30.

The subsequent 4x7.5km men's race was even closer as 10km winner Lenting locked horns with two other gold medallists already here in 15km freestyle champion Rinat Mukhin of Kazakhstan and sprint victor Magnus Kim of South Korea.

Lenting was still followed closely by Mukhin at the top of the final hill before pushing ahead of his tiring opponent.

He eventually skied the day's fastest time of 20:50.70 for a Japanese winning total of 1:27.30.30.

Nobuhito Kashwabara, Kohei Shimizu and Naoto Baba were the other members of the winning quartet.

Mukhin finished 19sec back in 1:27:49.40 for Kazakhstan, but he still managed the second quickest individual leg of the race of 21:09.20.

Kim had too much time to make up but led South Korea to third place in 1:30:12.20.