def METHOD_NAME(self, json_path, default=[]):
    with open(json_path, 'r') as f:
        content = f.read()
    if content == "":
        # empty file is invalid json format
        logger.warning(_("%s is empty file"), json_path)
        self._write_json_db(json_path, default)
    else:
        try:
            default = json.loads(content)
        except ValueError as e:
            logger.warning(e)
    return default