It seems to me the big benefit of Java is interoperability with other JVM languages like Scala and Clojure (or Jython or JRuby). This is much like the benefit you get from learning C when you work in a language with a good C-based foreign function interface (Python, Ruby, OCaml, etc). You can build most of your application in the more dynamic language, but fall back on the static language for the elements it works better for (high-performance, system-related, or interfacing with a library designed for the other language).

The advantage Java has over C is that, in that comparison, Java is really nice to work with.