The country's third-ranked operator (behind leader DoCoMo and KDDI) will begin offering Apple's iPhone 'later this year', though the terms of the deal are not yet clear.

Softbank confirmed the deal this morning.

Reuters quotes Macquarie analyst Nathan Ramler as saying: "The key question is if the agreement would be exclusive and what kind of (revenue-sharing) agreement Softbank has entered with Apple. Apple typically goes with exclusive agreements, so chances are that this will also be exclusive."

Other commentators have questioned whether Apple would be able to penetrate the highly-competitive Japanese mobile market.

Shinko Securities analyst Tomohiko Okugawa said: "It's very rare that something popular in the U.S. comes to Japan and captures that much demand here. Japanese consumers tend to stick to what they liked first... It will need to offer something new and surprising to be a hit in Japan."

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Apple is expected to unveil a 3G version of iPhone on June 9th.