The head of Instagram says its first development team outside the United States will set up shop in Tokyo this summer to bolster the photo- and video-sharing platform's services and functions.

Instagram, a subsidiary of Facebook Inc., aims to strengthen the design and quality of its services by setting up a new team in Japan, where users have sometimes helped create new ways to use the platform, Adam Mosseri said Friday.

"Japan was a unique opportunity given how much growth we had here, given how important the market is for the business and given how unique Japan is, culturally, economically ... that we thought it was worth the risk," Mosseri said at a news conference marking his first trip to the country since he took the helm in October.