Airbnb Inc. said Thursday that it is still removing "thousands" of listings from its website for unlicensed private lodgings in Japan, as required under a new law that took effect last week to cope with a sharp increase in foreign visitors and a consequent shortage of hotel rooms.

The world's leading home-share operator said it has continued to delete unregistered lodgings after the government found illegal properties remain listed on the Airbnb website.

"If (the government) makes us aware of any listings with inaccurate registration details, we will remove them immediately," Airbnb said in a statement. "We are also working hard to remove listings that do not appear to have a legitimate registration number."