The authorities in the Russian Far East say the economic plight of the disputed South Kurils is so desperate that people are campaigning for the islands to be leased back to Japan.

The islanders are reported to be collecting signatures for a petition to President Yeltsin, asking him to confirm that local government councils can lease land to foreign investors for up to ninety-nine years.

Japan has never recognized Russian sovereignty over the islands after they were occupied by the Soviet army in the final days of the Second World War.