Senior vice health minister Kazuaki Miyaji faced pressure to resign Friday after admitting the day before to helping the grandson of a senior member of his support group enter Teikyo University's medical school.

The action may represent an abuse of authority by Miyaji.

During Thursday's session of the Upper House Health and Welfare Committee, he admitted that his aide gave the application ID number of an examinee, whose grandfather was a senior member of Miyaji's support group, to a Teikyo University official shortly before the entrance exam was held in February.

Miyaji said the phone call to Teikyo University was made at the request of the examinee's parents.

"Although (the action I took) was not illegal, it was inappropriate and I offer my apology," Miyaji told a board meeting Friday of the House of Councilors Health, Labor and Welfare Committee.

However, he denied making any specific requests to the university to ensure the applicant got through the exam. Miyaji said he merely wanted the university to inform him as quickly as possible of the exam results, which the university failed to do.

Miyaji admitted he has done this before, saying he contacts Teikyo University "from time to time" at the request of his supporters. He said he has known the university's president, Shoichi Okinaga, for 20 years.

The examinee in the recent case had failed the entrance exam for Teikyo University each year for the past two years. This year, he passed.

Teikyo University has denied that Okinaga received the examinee's ID number from either Miyaji or aides from his office. However, the university could not confirm whether the number had been taken by one of its officials.

The examinee's parents run a private hospital and donated more than 1 million yen to Miyaji between 1996 and 2000, according to Akira Koike, a member of the Japanese Communist Party who brought up the case in the committee.

In the meantime, the secretaries general of four opposition parties agreed Friday to demand that Miyaji and Teikyo University President Shoichi Okinaga testify before the Upper House health committee as unsworn witnesses.

The request is a "top priority matter" and a precondition for resuming committee deliberations, they said.

The scandal broke just as the committee was deliberating a set of health insurance bills which the government considers priority legislation that must be enacted during the current Diet session, which ends July 31.

Four opposition parties agreed Friday to boycott further committee deliberations until Miyaji resigns, saying such action is improper for a senior vice health minister, who is in a position to supervise medical policies.

Miyaji's resignation is inevitable, according to senior members of the ruling bloc, pointing out that the government needs to clear the medical bills this session. A senior LDP member said Miyaji is expected to step down Monday.

"The health ministry is responsible for medical affairs and is also involved in giving licenses to doctors," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said. "(Miyaji) was somewhat careless for accepting (such a request from the parents of the examinee) so easily."

LDP heavyweight Mikio Aoki said he hopes Miyaji's fate is decided by Monday afternoon, when members of the ruling and opposition parties of the health committee will hold another meeting.