Who said anything about the latest Java. Since Java has versioned specs, platform X can support one version, and you can target it based on that information even if other versions come out and get supported by other platforms.
For example C89 and C99 are pretty old, and modern C has a lot that is different from them. But they still get targeted and deployed, and enjoy a decent following. Because even in 2024, you can write a new C89 compiler and people's existing and new C89 code will compile on it if you implement it right.
But as a developer I do want to use (some of) the latest features as soon as they become available. That's why most of my crates have an N-2 stable version policy.
It is the sort of thing that people aimed for in the 90s, when there was more velocity in c and c++. If rust lives long enough the rate of change will also slow down.
For example C89 and C99 are pretty old, and modern C has a lot that is different from them. But they still get targeted and deployed, and enjoy a decent following. Because even in 2024, you can write a new C89 compiler and people's existing and new C89 code will compile on it if you implement it right.