A woman who kept 160 starving dogs in her house among tonnes of their own waste has been arrested by Japanese police, an official said Wednesday.

Ten tonnes of animal waste and other rubbish were removed from Noriko Ishii's house after the dogs were taken away, he said.

One Bernese Mountain Dog kept by Ishii, 43, weighed just seven kilograms (15 pounds) -- a sixth of what it should have, said the official in Osaka, adding all the animals were "very scrawny".

Jobless Ishii could face a fine of up to 500,000 yen ($6,000) if convicted under Japan's animal protection laws.