You know what JIT means, right? It means that is is not compiled from the start and indeed runs on a bytecode interpreter until the JIT compiler kicks in.

The java JIT has produced sufficiently fast code for all but the most demanding of HPC applications for going on 20 years. I realize keeping up with new developments can be difficult but the out of date java performance memes are entirely ridiculous by now.

Meanwhile half the world appears to run on cpython of all things.