diff --git a/pxr/usd/sdf/assetPath.cpp b/pxr/usd/sdf/assetPath.cpp
index 8af43b9f4b..071e5a9a08 100644
--- a/pxr/usd/sdf/assetPath.cpp
+++ b/pxr/usd/sdf/assetPath.cpp
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ static const char Delimiter = '@';
 // advance 'cp' to the start of the next UTF-8 character.  If 'cp' does not
 // point to a valid UTF-8 char, leave 'cp' unmodified and return -1.
 static int
-_ReadUTF8(char const *&cp, std::string *errMsg)
+_ReadUTF8(unsigned char const *&cp, std::string *errMsg)
 {
     // Return a byte with the high `n` bits set, rest clear.
     auto highBits = [](int n) {
@@ -114,7 +114,7 @@ _ValidateAssetPathString(char const *path)
                 (0x80 <= code && code <= 0x9f));
     };
 
-    char const *cp = path;
+    unsigned char const *cp = reinterpret_cast<unsigned char const*>(path);
     std::string err;
     int utf8Char = _ReadUTF8(cp, &err);
     int charNum = 1;
diff --git a/pxr/usd/sdf/testenv/testSdfParsing.testenv/180_asset_paths.sdf b/pxr/usd/sdf/testenv/testSdfParsing.testenv/180_asset_paths.sdf
index 59716cc9ea..10c3b20100 100644
--- a/pxr/usd/sdf/testenv/testSdfParsing.testenv/180_asset_paths.sdf
+++ b/pxr/usd/sdf/testenv/testSdfParsing.testenv/180_asset_paths.sdf
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ over "AssetPathTest" (
         asset wversion = @//menv30/global/unit_defs.sdf#20@
         asset allchars = @ !"#$%&'()*+,-./0123456789:;<=>?ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_`abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz{|}~@
         asset utf8 = @aɪ kæn iːt glɑːs ænd ɪt dɐz nɒt hɜːt miː Можам да јадам стакло, а не ме штета ನನಗೆ ಹಾನಿ ಆಗದೆ, ನಾನು ಗಜನ್ನು ತಿನಬಹುದು@
+        asset pathWithJapaneseCharacter = @path/to/響@
         asset looksLikeEscapes = @\x01\x03\x7f@
         asset[] array = [@@, @sdf/Model.sdf@, @//$STAGEDIR/sim/$MODELINSTANCE.sdf@, @//menv30/global/unit_defs.sdf#20@]
     }
@@ -30,6 +31,7 @@ over "AssetPathTest" (
 
     asset allchars = @ !"#$%&'()*+,-./0123456789:;<=>?ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_`abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz{|}~@
     asset utf8 = @aɪ kæn iːt glɑːs ænd ɪt dɐz nɒt hɜːt miː Можам да јадам стакло, а не ме штета ನನಗೆ ಹಾನಿ ಆಗದೆ, ನಾನು ಗಜನ್ನು ತಿನಬಹುದು@
+    asset pathWithJapaneseCharacter = @path/to/響@
     asset looksLikeEscapes = @\x01\x03\x7f@
     asset[] array = [@@, @sdf/Model.sdf@, @//$STAGEDIR/sim/$MODELINSTANCE.sdf@, @//menv30/global/unit_defs.sdf#20@]
 }
@@ -53,6 +55,7 @@ over "AssetPathTest2" (
         asset escapeddelimiter = @@@foo.sdf\@@@testing\\@@@@@@
         asset beginandendwithextradelim = @@@@foo.sdf@@@@
         asset utf8 = @@@aɪ kæn iːt glɑːs ænd ɪt dɐz nɒt hɜːt miː Можам да јадам стакло, а не ме штета ನನಗೆ ಹಾನಿ ಆಗದೆ, ನಾನು ಗಜನ್ನು ತಿನಬಹುದು@@@
+        asset pathWithJapaneseCharacter = @path/to/響@
         asset looksLikeEscapes = @@@\x01\x03\x7f@@@
         asset[] array = [@@@@@@, @@@sdf/Model.sdf@@@, @@@//menv30/global/unit_defs.sdf@stable-prepro_0.42@@@, @@@//menv30/global/unit_defs.sdf@2012/06/20@@@]
     }
@@ -78,6 +81,7 @@ over "AssetPathTest2" (
     asset beginandendwithextradelim = @@@@foo.sdf@@@@
 
     asset utf8 = @@@aɪ kæn iːt glɑːs ænd ɪt dɐz nɒt hɜːt miː Можам да јадам стакло, а не ме штета ನನಗೆ ಹಾನಿ ಆಗದೆ, ನಾನು ಗಜನ್ನು ತಿನಬಹುದು@@@
+    asset pathWithJapaneseCharacter = @path/to/響@
     asset looksLikeEscapes = @@@\x01\x03\x7f@@@
     asset[] array = [@@@@@@, @@@sdf/Model.sdf@@@, @@@//menv30/global/unit_defs.sdf@stable-prepro_0.42@@@, @@@//menv30/global/unit_defs.sdf@2012/06/20@@@]
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/pxr/usd/sdf/testenv/testSdfParsing.testenv/baseline/180_asset_paths.sdf b/pxr/usd/sdf/testenv/testSdfParsing.testenv/baseline/180_asset_paths.sdf
index 569a727a1e..7a6e18afb6 100644
--- a/pxr/usd/sdf/testenv/testSdfParsing.testenv/baseline/180_asset_paths.sdf
+++ b/pxr/usd/sdf/testenv/testSdfParsing.testenv/baseline/180_asset_paths.sdf
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ over "AssetPathTest" (
         asset empty = @@
         asset looksLikeEscapes = @\x01\x03\x7f@
         asset overlay = @///global/unit_defs.sdf@
+        asset pathWithJapaneseCharacter = @path/to/響@
         asset relative1 = @sdf/Model.sdf@
         asset relative2 = @../sdf/Model.sdf@
         asset repo = @//menv30/global/unit_defs.sdf@
@@ -24,6 +25,7 @@ over "AssetPathTest" (
     asset empty = @@
     asset looksLikeEscapes = @\x01\x03\x7f@
     asset overlay = @///global/unit_defs.sdf@
+    asset pathWithJapaneseCharacter = @path/to/響@
     asset relative1 = @sdf/Model.sdf@
     asset relative2 = @../sdf/Model.sdf@
     asset repo = @//menv30/global/unit_defs.sdf@
@@ -43,6 +45,7 @@ over "AssetPathTest2" (
         asset escapeddelimiter = @@@foo.sdf\@@@testing\\@@@@@@
         asset looksLikeEscapes = @\x01\x03\x7f@
         asset overlay = @///global/unit_defs.sdf@
+        asset pathWithJapaneseCharacter = @path/to/響@
         asset relative1 = @sdf/Model.sdf@
         asset relative2 = @../sdf/Model.sdf@
         asset repo = @//menv30/global/unit_defs.sdf@
@@ -65,6 +68,7 @@ over "AssetPathTest2" (
     asset escapeddelimiter = @@@foo.sdf\@@@testing\\@@@@@@
     asset looksLikeEscapes = @\x01\x03\x7f@
     asset overlay = @///global/unit_defs.sdf@
+    asset pathWithJapaneseCharacter = @path/to/響@
     asset relative1 = @sdf/Model.sdf@
     asset relative2 = @../sdf/Model.sdf@
     asset repo = @//menv30/global/unit_defs.sdf@