diff --git a/examples/run_classifier.py b/examples/run_classifier.py
index 751d581ad9..4268c41ec6 100644
--- a/examples/run_classifier.py
+++ b/examples/run_classifier.py
@@ -95,7 +95,7 @@ class DataProcessor(object):
     @classmethod
     def _read_tsv(cls, input_file, quotechar=None):
         """Reads a tab separated value file."""
-        with open(input_file, "r") as f:
+        with open(input_file, "r", encoding="utf-8") as f:
             reader = csv.reader(f, delimiter="\t", quotechar=quotechar)
             lines = []
             for line in reader: