diff --git a/tool/resources/org/antlr/v4/tool/templates/codegen/Java/Java.stg b/tool/resources/org/antlr/v4/tool/templates/codegen/Java/Java.stg
index 597e8d8d7..8a045c69e 100644
--- a/tool/resources/org/antlr/v4/tool/templates/codegen/Java/Java.stg
+++ b/tool/resources/org/antlr/v4/tool/templates/codegen/Java/Java.stg
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ javaTypeInitMap ::= [
 	"byte":"0",
 	"short":"0",
 	"char":"0",
-	default:"null" // anything other than an atomic type
+	default:"null" // anything other than a primitive type is an object
 ]
 
 // args must be <object-model-object>, <fields-resulting-in-STs>