My CSV shows garbled text (mojibake) when I open it in Excel. How do I fix it?

Japanese Excel tries to read CSV files as Shift_JIS unless an encoding is declared, so a plain UTF-8 file shows garbled characters. Choose 'Shift_JIS' or 'UTF-8 (with BOM)' in this tool, convert, and download — Excel will then open the file correctly.

Should I pick Shift_JIS or UTF-8 with BOM?

Both prevent garbling in Excel. For Japanese-only data that needs guaranteed Excel compatibility, Shift_JIS is the safe choice. If your data includes emoji or other languages (Chinese, Korean, etc.), use UTF-8 with BOM so no characters are dropped.

Can I change the delimiter and line endings too?

Yes. Pick the delimiter from comma, tab, semicolon, or pipe, and switch line endings between LF (Unix) and CRLF (Windows). You can also choose minimal quoting (only when needed) or quote every field.

Is my data uploaded to a server?

No. All conversion runs entirely in your browser. Your CSV is never uploaded or stored on a server.

Yes, it is completely free. No sign-up and no installation required.

CSV format converter

CSV tools

Change delimiter, quoting, and line endings, and re-encode UTF-8 / UTF-8 with BOM / Shift_JIS to fix mojibake in Japanese Excel. Everything runs in your browser; your data is never uploaded.

What is this CSV format converter?

A free, browser-based tool to re-emit a CSV with a different delimiter (comma, tab, semicolon, pipe), quoting style, line ending (LF/CRLF), and — most importantly — encoding. The number one CSV headache in Japan is mojibake: open a UTF-8 CSV in Japanese Excel and the text turns into garbage. This tool fixes it by exporting as Shift_JIS or UTF-8 with BOM, the encodings Excel reads correctly. Everything runs locally in your browser, so your data is never uploaded.

How to use it

Upload a CSV file or paste it into the box on the left.
Choose the input and output delimiter, quoting style, and line ending.
Pick the encoding — use Shift_JIS or UTF-8 with BOM to avoid mojibake in Japanese Excel.
Download the converted CSV.

Common use cases

Fixing garbled (mojibake) CSV exports so they open cleanly in Japanese Excel.
Converting a comma CSV to tab-separated (TSV) for another tool.
Switching line endings between Windows (CRLF) and Unix (LF) for a strict importer.

Related CSV tools

FAQ

Operated by

Tools by Timothe AI is a suite of free tools built and operated by unbounded pioneering inc, the company behind Timothe AI.

Ryosuke SuzukiFounder & CEO

Founder & CEO of Unbounded Pioneering Inc., the company behind Timothe AI, and an expert in machine learning and AI product development. He began his career in machine learning research at a university laboratory, then designed and built large-scale products as a software engineer at PLAID, Rakuten, and Recruit, while also driving new business development. Now specializing in generative AI and AI products, he works across both engineering and business development, and is a named inventor on multiple granted patents in web technology.

Named inventor on granted patents JP6887648 & JP7480958 · Patent pending on Timothe AI technology

LinkedIn X About us →

Get in touch

Thanks for reaching out

Thank you for your interest in our company. A member of our team will get back to you within one business day.

What we can help with

Adopting and getting the most out of Timothe AI
A demo or trial of Timothe AI
AI adoption in general (beyond our own product, too)
Alliances and partnerships
Any other questions

Talk to us online

You can also book a meeting directly from the calendar.