It's language syntax is bitty, and if you want a portable, interpreted language (which is basically all Java is, afterall)
As soon as you mention the word "interpreted" you are showing your ignorance. Java is NOT an interpreted language.
And saying you'd use ANYTHING other than Java in, presumably, all cases demonstrates your inability to choose the right tool objectively.
I have used many languages in my time, including Java, and some I liked and some I hated. For the record Perl is something I never got on with, for example, but thats another flame-war. But the point is I used them all when the situation required the best language for the problem.
In the case of Java, it wins hands down on anything to do with the Internet that is more involved than a few scripted pages, and it wins hands down in terms of character encodings and language conversion. It has many drawbacks, including some of its API, though version 5.0 (or 1.5 whatever you want to call it) has improved the language significantly IMO.
Matt