Java microservices represent an architectural approach where a large application is built as a suite of small, independent services using the Java programming language and its ecosystem. This pattern is heavily supported by modern frameworks like Spring Boot, Quarkus, and Micronaut, which simplify the creation of standalone, production-grade services that can be developed, deployed, and scaled independently. Each service runs in its own process and communicates with others using lightweight mechanisms, typically HTTP/REST APIs, allowing for greater agility, fault isolation, and maintainability in complex, enterprise-level systems by leveraging Java's robustness, performance, and extensive libraries.