diff --git a/lcm-java/CMakeLists.txt b/lcm-java/CMakeLists.txt
index 3c67af139..37844f19f 100644
--- a/lcm-java/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/lcm-java/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 include(UseJava)
 
-set(LCM_JAVA_TARGET_VERSION "1.6" CACHE STRING
+set(LCM_JAVA_TARGET_VERSION "1.8" CACHE STRING
   "Java version to target when building Java components (leave empty to use default)"
 )
 if(NOT LCM_JAVA_TARGET_VERSION STREQUAL "")