diff --git a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/Project.java b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/Project.java
index 08ae7ec5d..3a0c4b824 100644
--- a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/Project.java
+++ b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/Project.java
@@ -930,8 +930,8 @@ public class Project implements ResourceFactory {
         setPropertyInternal(MagicNames.ANT_JAVA_VERSION, javaVersion);
 
         // sanity check
-        if (!JavaEnvUtils.isAtLeastJavaVersion(JavaEnvUtils.JAVA_1_4))  {
-            throw new BuildException("Ant cannot work on Java prior to 1.4");
+        if (!JavaEnvUtils.isAtLeastJavaVersion(JavaEnvUtils.JAVA_1_5))  {
+            throw new BuildException("Ant cannot work on Java prior to 1.5");
         }
         log("Detected Java version: " + javaVersion + " in: "
             + System.getProperty("java.home"), MSG_VERBOSE);