A day before a new law on minpaku (private lodging services) takes effect, Airbnb Inc. on Thursday welcomed the change and reinforced its commitment to the Japanese market with fresh initiatives.

Friday "marks the first official day of the home sharing economy and we are very excited to be a part of this important development," Nathan Blecharczyk, co-founder of the San Francisco-based room-sharing giant that lists more than 5 million homes worldwide, said Thursday at a Tokyo news conference in the Shibuya district.

Among the new initiatives is a service called Airbnb Plus, which lists only "high standard" homes in Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto.