evidence: Kuril islands dispute between Russia and Japan - Published [...] The island chain known as the Kurils stretches north across the Pacific Ocean from the Japanese island of Hokkaido to the southern tip of Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula. [...] The islands are surrounded by rich fishing grounds and are thought to have offshore reserves of oil and gas. Rare rhenium deposits have been found on the Kudriavy volcano on Iturup.