diff --git a/debian/changelog b/debian/changelog
index ae2736104565eef10e264dc9a810283b2618971c..33d063caefb9466f119ab29a7f30e4ba89e83e54 100644
--- a/debian/changelog
+++ b/debian/changelog
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ libjdepend-java (2.10-1) UNRELEASED; urgency=medium
 
   * New upstream release
     - License changed to MIT
+  * Generate Java 8 compatible bytecode
   * Removed the documentation from the binary package
   * Switch to debhelper level 13
   * Converted debian/copyright to the Copyright Format 1.0
diff --git a/debian/rules b/debian/rules
index ff2ea4ff761ace8fd5852c9422df03ea7fbd3414..d48119df2371cb6bf4f4ab27fc829f749701a17e 100755
--- a/debian/rules
+++ b/debian/rules
@@ -4,4 +4,4 @@
 	dh $@ --with maven-repo-helper
 
 override_dh_auto_build:
-	dh_auto_build -- jar -Dant.build.javac.source=1.6
+	dh_auto_build -- jar -Dant.build.javac.source=8 -Dant.build.javac.target=8