diff --git a/bin/ansible b/bin/ansible
index 1591e28b635..909e62b40b0 100755
--- a/bin/ansible
+++ b/bin/ansible
@@ -17,9 +17,13 @@
 # You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
 # along with Ansible.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
 
+try:
+    import json
+except ImportError:
+    import simplejson as json
+
 from optparse import OptionParser
 import sys
-import json
 import os
 import getpass
 import shlex
diff --git a/lib/ansible/runner.py b/lib/ansible/runner.py
index aad75532595..8a343a37d68 100755
--- a/lib/ansible/runner.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/runner.py
@@ -16,11 +16,15 @@
 # along with Ansible.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
 #
 
+try:
+    import json
+except ImportError:
+    import simplejson as json
+
 import fnmatch
 import multiprocessing
 import signal
 import os
-import json
 import traceback
 import paramiko # non-core dependency
 import ansible.constants as C