Kotlin/Native exists, but, it's immature compared to Kotlin/JVM. So it really depends on what you mean by Java - the language or the VM/ecosystem/toolchains. I

Kotlin/Native exists, but, it's immature compared to Kotlin/JVM. So it really depends on what you mean by Java - the language or the VM/ecosystem/toolchains. If the former, yeah you don't have to care about it (you have to be able to read it at least a bit). If the latter then you'll find it frustrating. The JVM is theoretically optional but practically required as otherwise you won't have access to enough libraries. The C ecosystem just isn't competitive.