diff --git a/java/java.go b/java/java.go
index 27b2a6e..1df45b8 100644
--- a/java/java.go
+++ b/java/java.go
@@ -2166,15 +2166,18 @@
 // Implements android.ApexModule
 func (j *Import) ShouldSupportSdkVersion(ctx android.BaseModuleContext,
 	sdkVersion android.ApiLevel) error {
-	sdkSpec := j.MinSdkVersion(ctx)
-	if !sdkSpec.Specified() {
+	sdkVersionSpec := j.SdkVersion(ctx)
+	minSdkVersionSpec := j.MinSdkVersion(ctx)
+	if !minSdkVersionSpec.Specified() {
 		return fmt.Errorf("min_sdk_version is not specified")
 	}
-	if sdkSpec.Kind == android.SdkCore {
+	// If the module is compiling against core (via sdk_version), skip comparison check.
+	if sdkVersionSpec.Kind == android.SdkCore {
 		return nil
 	}
-	if sdkSpec.ApiLevel.GreaterThan(sdkVersion) {
-		return fmt.Errorf("newer SDK(%v)", sdkSpec.ApiLevel)
+	minSdkVersion := minSdkVersionSpec.ApiLevel
+	if minSdkVersion.GreaterThan(sdkVersion) {
+		return fmt.Errorf("newer SDK(%v)", minSdkVersion)
 	}
 	return nil
 }