A Japanese zoo is trying to improve the reputation of cockroaches through an exhibition on one of the world’s most hated insects.

Staff at Shunanshi Tokuyama Zoo in Yamaguchi, western Japan say cockroaches perform an important role and do not deserve the loathing they often incite.

There are a whopping 4,000 species of cockroach on the planet. The hardy insects are famed for being capable of surviving almost anywhere.

“They have such a negative image,” a zoo spokeswoman said. “But they’re actually playing an important role in the food chain.”

Cockroaches have the vital but unpleasant-sounding function of eating rotting carcasses and dead plants on forest floors.

Visitors to the zoo’s exhibition can watch fast-paced five-way cockroach races and meet the Madagascar Hissing Cockroach, which can grow as long as seven centimetres.

The exhibition has around 200 individual cockroaches from 15 different species on display. The spokesperson said the exhibit was already proving popular, with 70-80% of zoo visitors stopping by.