Score yet another blow against those who think the iPhone can't succeed in Japan. Softbank has teamed up with the widely popular (in Japan) Aoyama Gakuin University in an initiative that will distribute the iPhone to all students of the university's school of social informatics. In addition to being used for note taking and recording the phones will also be used for online testing, and GPS tracking (for accurate roll calls).

The university has even launched a program designed to promote the development of original applications for the iPhone AppStore. The best news of all is that the university will bear the cost of the iPhone operation charges. While some schools in the U.S. have just started distributing laptops to students, Japanese universities have once again pointed the way towards the real future of higher education.

Via Nikkei