diff --git a/extras/chars.py b/extras/chars.py
index 3810d83cb..d63243d28 100644
--- a/extras/chars.py
+++ b/extras/chars.py
@@ -270,6 +270,7 @@ jap_chars.update({
     0xE1: "ゅ",
     0xE2: "ょ",
     0xE3: "ー",
+    0xE9: "ァ",
 })
 
 #some of the japanese characters can probably fit into the english table
diff --git a/preprocessor.py b/preprocessor.py
index 30060e7d7..e8e959c06 100644
--- a/preprocessor.py
+++ b/preprocessor.py
@@ -192,6 +192,7 @@ chars = {
 "ゅ": 0xE1,
 "ょ": 0xE2,
 "ー": 0xE3,
+"ァ": 0xE9,
 
 "@": 0x50,
 "#": 0x54,