Java is representative of what I would call industrial/enterprise category languages. These types of programming languages are optimal for applications with several people working on the project. In this type of project, being formal and careful can have a considerable impact.
Besides Java in this category, I include C++, C,C# and Ada. Ada is mainly used in the military.
Another non-negligible factor is that Java is the most taught and popular programming language. Java is used for large systems by large groups of people, and if you know C++, learning Java is made easier (in my opinion, the reverse is also true).