There is a big difference between what Java calls AOT and this. Statically linked hello world in Vala which uses some basic standard library functions is less than a megabyte (most of it taken up by glibc as I couldn't get it to compile with musl). If you assume dynamic linking for core libraries then it is just 15KB.
I have no doubt that the Java world has excellent tech behind the AOT support but the footprint is simply not comparable when you can't even construct a java.lang.String without bringing in the entire JapaneseChronology.
I have no doubt that the Java world has excellent tech behind the AOT support but the footprint is simply not comparable when you can't even construct a java.lang.String without bringing in the entire JapaneseChronology.