diff --git a/pylib/anki/__init__.py b/pylib/anki/__init__.py
index 0142b8098..dc86258da 100644
--- a/pylib/anki/__init__.py
+++ b/pylib/anki/__init__.py
@@ -9,7 +9,10 @@ from anki.collection import Collection
 if sys.version_info[0] < 3 or sys.version_info[1] < 7:
     raise Exception("Anki requires Python 3.7+")
 
-if sys.getfilesystemencoding().lower() in ("ascii", "ansi_x3.4-1968"):
+# ensure unicode filenames are supported
+try:
+    "テスト".encode(sys.getfilesystemencoding())
+except UnicodeEncodeError:
     raise Exception("Anki requires a UTF-8 locale.")