after winning the 250cc championship in japan, aoyama secured a grand prix world championships ride with honda's 250cc factory team in 2006. he replaced his brother hiroshi aoyama, who moved to ktm. he scored his first podium finish with a third-place at le mans, finishing just ahead of his brother, hiroshi. he finished the season eighth in overall standings with 99 points and was named as rookie of the year for his performance in his debut season. in 2007, he remained with the team, but he failed to improved on his rookie season. he failed to record a podium finish and finished the season 12th in overall standings. however, he recorded his first pole position in his home race at motegi.