By Staff Writer – John Federico (@gadgetboy)

File this one under Twitter Experiments.

According to Media Magazine, Twitter Japan, operated by Twitter partner Digital Garage, will soon introduce a payment system that enables users to charge for access to their Tweetstream, either via subscription or using micropayments.

The plan would allow users to view some text but access to the entire stream, images, videos and external links will require a fee. Payment options will include credit card, pre-paid cards sold at convenience stores and for mobile users, wireless carrier billing. Pricing will be set by the account holders but will range from USD $1.16 to $11.60 (JPY 100 to JPY 1000).

Kei Shimada, founder and CEO of Japanese mobile research, consulting and development firm Infinita Inc, indicates that this model may work well in Japan for a variety of reasons. The first being that he believes that most of Twitter.jp’s traffic will likely come from mobile in the future citing Mixi, the most popular social networking site in Japan as a basis for this theory. More than 70 percent of Mixi’s traffic comes from mobile devices and not computers.

Similarly, due to the mobile culture in Japan and the fact that wireless carrier billing systems are used for varied types of transactions, this model would not be a surprise to Japanese consumers. Shimada also admits that this scenario wouldn’t necessarily work in other markets.

Of course, Twitter Japan is the only division of the company showing signs of profitability according to reports cited in the Media Magazine article. Twitter.jp is currently supported by advertising with rates ranging from $5,500 to $33,000 for a customised page and banner. (I would love to show you what these look like, but Twitter.jp redirects me to Twitter.com based on my US-based IP address.)

So here’s the $100 million question: Would you pay to subscribe to someone’s tweets? Post your answer in the comments.

DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: http://cmp.ly/0