diff --git a/bids_export.m b/bids_export.m
index 23f15a9..e1559b5 100644
--- a/bids_export.m
+++ b/bids_export.m
@@ -1203,7 +1203,7 @@ function printEventHeader(eInfo)
 function writejson(fileName, matlabStruct)
 jsonStr = jsonencode(matlabStruct);
 
-fid = fopen(fileName, 'w');
+fid = fopen(fileName, 'w', 'n', 'UTF-8');
 if fid == -1, error('Cannot write file - make sure you have writing permission'); end
 fprintf(fid, '%s', jsonStr);
 fclose(fid);
@@ -1211,7 +1211,7 @@ function writejson(fileName, matlabStruct)
 % write TSV file
 % --------------
 function writetsv(fileName, matlabArray)
-fid = fopen(fileName, 'w');
+fid = fopen(fileName, 'w', 'n', 'UTF-8');
 if fid == -1, error('Cannot write file - make sure you have writing permission'); end
 for iRow=1:size(matlabArray,1)
     for iCol=1:size(matlabArray,2)