TOYAMA (Kyodo) Japan used to be known as a country with a near fanatical devotion to education, but it now not uncommon to hear of high school students refusing to attend class.

According to a survey last August by the education ministry, about 2 percent of the nation's high school students, or some 67,000, do not go to school, leading some to worry that they may become "NEETs" -- those not in education, employment or training -- or remain shut-ins at home.

Education experts say that while support measures for absentee students have improved at the elementary and junior high school level, those for high school students are lacking.