The cabinet of Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has seen its approval rating fall to 24 percent, according to a survey released on Monday by Nikkei.

The rating fell by 12 percentage points from the last time Nikkei conducted its survey, and is a further evidence of discontent among Japanese over what they consider to be flip- flopping on issues such as the Futenma problem.

The disapproval for the government also rose by 11 points to 68 percent.

As the government continues to look at alternative locations for the Futenma air facility, currently located in urban Ginowan in Okinawa Prefecture, the public's patience is being tested, with almost 100,000 people rallying against the base remaining on the southern island chain on Sunday.

In the Nikkei poll, which was conducted between April 23 and 25, some 57 percent of respondents said they believed Hatoyama should step down if he does not meet his deadline of resolving the base issue by the end of May.

Since being swept into power on a wave of popularity at the end of the summer last year, the Hatoyama government has seen its fortunes turn amid scandals and perceived disunity from the public.

An upper house vote is scheduled to take place this summer and presents a risk to the government of the Democratic Party of Japan 's (DPJ) power in parliament.