In Japan if you want to get your hands on an iPhone, you’d only be able to get it on contract exclusively via Softbank, one of the carriers in Japan. Much like AT&T, Softbank has enjoyed exclusivity for the iPhone 4 but that may be ending soon. According to a local newspaper in Japan, The Nikkei, they reported that they had learned that KDDI (another carrier in Japan) will start offering the iPhone come 2012.
No word on which version they will be offering, although given the rumored release of the iPhone 5 in October, there’s a good chance KDDI will be offering the iPhone 5 in the first quarter of 2012.
