Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward to rate nursing care services.

The Shinagawa Ward Office in Tokyo will set up an independent body in April to rate private-sector nursing-care providers for the elderly, and to handle problems the recipients and providers encounter, according to ward officials.

The ward office is one of the few local authorities to take steps to complement the central government's nursing care insurance system that kicks off in April. The national government is planning to establish an ombudsmen's committee to hear complaints from recipients of nursing services.

The independent watchdog body will seek to improve the quality of nursing care for the elderly. Yuji Ogasawara, a professor of social welfare for …