--- title: A Japanese Zoo Is Trying To Get You To Like Cockroaches description: One Japanese zoo is trying to change the public's perception to cockroaches. canonical: https://time.com/3967251/cockroaches-japan-zoo-exhibition/ author: Helen Regan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-07-22T08:35:19.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:48:20.173Z og:title: A Japanese Zoo Is Trying to Persuade You to Like Cockroaches og:description: The creepy crawly has apparently been given a bad wrap. og:url: https://time.com/3967251/cockroaches-japan-zoo-exhibition/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd7811b66b75f55bd/69885be52dce01fcbb9e4bbe/cockroach-insect.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4928 og:image:height: 2772 og:image:alt: Red Cockroach og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: A Japanese Zoo Is Trying to Persuade You to Like Cockroaches twitter:description: The creepy crawly has apparently been given a bad wrap. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd7811b66b75f55bd/69885be52dce01fcbb9e4bbe/cockroach-insect.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # This Japanese Zoo Is Trying the Impossible: Persuading People to Like Cockroaches > Sponsored content. 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Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-futureproof-2026q3/newsletters?i=daeb5709-bb9d-44b3-ae07-ae741c3d6245&cr=time-nl-futureproof-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Robotic Cockroaches to Help Save Lives in Disasters [Watch (HLS stream): Robotic Cockroaches to Help Save Lives in Disasters](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Pkyw8xrp.m3u8) (1:15)  _Published 2013-09-13. North Carolina researchers think robotic roaches could be trained to help find people after natural disasters._ by [Helen Regan](https://time.com/author/helen-regan/) ## Helen Regan Jul 22, 2015 8:35 AM UTC  Red Cockroach Red Cockroach Norrabhudit—iStockphoto/Getty Images by [Helen Regan](https://time.com/author/helen-regan/) ## Helen Regan Jul 22, 2015 8:35 AM UTC They’re extremely fast, famed (and reviled) for their ability to survive a nuclear holocaust and have been [around](http://www.afp.com/en/news/japan-zoo-takes-cockroach-pr-role) since the dinosaurs. There’s also something about them that makes most people on the planet squirm with disgust. But cockroaches, one Japanese zoo believes, have been given lot of unjustified bad press. And so staff at Shunanshi Tokuyama Zoo in western Japan have launched an exhibition to try to persuade people that cockroaches really aren’t all that bad. “They have such a negative image,” a spokeswoman for the zoo told AFP. “But they’re actually playing an important role in the food chain.” Visitors to the exhibition can come face to face with the Madagascar Hissing Cockroach — that can grow up to a whopping 7 c.m. long — and even watch five-way roach races. The zoo also has about 200 individual cockroaches from 15 different species on display, and staff say the exhibition is already a hit with the public. \[[AFP](http://www.afp.com/en/news/japan-zoo-takes-cockroach-pr-role)\] ## Transcript [00:00] This is not everybody's idea of a good time. We are raised [00:04] with a phobia against insects. The cockroaches are our [00:07] friend. Dr. Alper Bozkurt has a soft spot for Madagascar [00:11] hissing cockroaches. He's an assistant professor in [00:14] Computer and Electrical Engineering at NC State [00:16] University and he's working to turn these insects into [00:20] cyborgs. We implant electrodes to their antenna and we [00:24] send tiny pulses, very very small pulses, to their antenna. [00:27] As it walks, the insect feels the pulses, believes they're [00:30] obstacles, and moves to avoid them. It took a few tries but [00:33] Bozkurt and his assistant found a cockroach that walked [00:37] the line. As the assistant moves the joystick, the roach [00:40] responds, moving around this U- shaped track. This kind of [00:43] research isn't just interesting to watch. It could mark the [00:46] start of a new era in search and rescue after disasters. Our [00:50] ultimate goal is to use these insects, especially [00:52] cockroaches, in the rubble after natural disasters like [00:56] earthquakes to find victims. These remote- controlled [00:59] cockroaches could find their way through cramped, dark [01:02] spaces, carrying tiny microphones and listening for [01:05] survivors. Bozkurt and other scientists still have to work out [01:09] the bugs, but these cockroaches, someday, could save [01:13] your life. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3967251/cockroaches-japan-zoo-exhibition/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3967251/cockroaches-japan-zoo-exhibition/"},"headline":"This Japanese Zoo Is Trying the Impossible: Persuading People to Like Cockroaches","datePublished":"2015-07-22T08:35:19.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:48:20.173Z","description":"The world’s most hated insect is getting a makeover","url":"https://time.com/3967251/cockroaches-japan-zoo-exhibition/","keywords":["Newsfeed","animals","Japan","Bizarre","Zoo","Insects","exhibition"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd7811b66b75f55bd/69885be52dce01fcbb9e4bbe/cockroach-insect.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Helen Regan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/helen-regan/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd7811b66b75f55bd/69885be52dce01fcbb9e4bbe/cockroach-insect.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Red Cockroach","caption":"Red Cockroach","creditText":"Norrabhudit—iStockphoto/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3967251/cockroaches-japan-zoo-exhibition/","name":"This Japanese Zoo Is Trying the Impossible: Persuading People to Like Cockroaches"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Robotic Cockroaches to Help Save Lives in Disasters","description":"North Carolina researchers think robotic roaches could be trained to help find people after natural disasters.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/Pkyw8xrp/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2013-09-13T15:02:48.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Pkyw8xrp.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3967251/cockroaches-japan-zoo-exhibition/","duration":"PT1M15S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3967251/cockroaches-japan-zoo-exhibition/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```