Studies of the extragalactic background light suggest that a large fraction of the energy output from stars is reprocessed to Infrared (IR) wavelengths by dust, with the majority of star-formation being dust-obscured. Intensely star-forming galaxies (SFGs) are therefore expected to be rich in dust, while their abundance of stellar end-products would substantially boost their interstellar cosmic ray (CR) flux. These CRs can undergo hadronic interactions to produce neutrinos and gamma-rays, and are thought to drive the gamma-ray glow of nearby starburst galaxies. However, when strong dust-reprocessed infrared radiation fields are present within a SFG, gamma-rays can be severely attenuated by pair-production processes, with only the neutrinos escaping. Comparison between neutrino and gamma-ray fluxes from SFG populations can therefore provide a means to constrain their dust properties, and its evolution over redshift. I will demonstrate how AKARI NEP legacy IR data presents a valuable opportunity to inform future gamma-ray and neutrino observations in the NEP field to unlock properties of the interstellar environments of SFGs.