diff --git a/java/src/main/native/OrtJniUtil.c b/java/src/main/native/OrtJniUtil.c
index 66fda20650..f2d97dd24a 100644
--- a/java/src/main/native/OrtJniUtil.c
+++ b/java/src/main/native/OrtJniUtil.c
@@ -10,7 +10,9 @@ jint JNI_OnLoad(JavaVM *vm, void *reserved) {
     // To silence unused-parameter error.
     // This function must exist according to the JNI spec, but the arguments aren't necessary for the library to request a specific version.
     (void)vm; (void) reserved;
-    return JNI_VERSION_1_8;
+    // Requesting 1.6 to support Android. Will need to be bumped to a later version to call interface default methods
+    // from native code, or to access other new Java features.
+    return JNI_VERSION_1_6;
 }
 
 /**