I agree, it's mostly the language. However, remember that newer developers get onboarded by older developers. I lead the charge a few years ago to get my then

I agree, it's mostly the language. However, remember that newer developers get onboarded by older developers. I lead the charge a few years ago to get my then team to adopt Java8 style streams and Vertx, otherwise the stack was the typical SpringBoot annotation affair with the downsides you mention. In a similar vein, one of Java's touted strengths is the package ecosystem but those packages often are written in the same class-hierarchy-heavy style. When the code you see and use is written in that style, writing in that style becomes the default unless you actively choose to do something else.