diff --git a/java-1_8_0-openj9.spec b/java-1_8_0-openj9.spec
index ed1428b..9185bf6 100644
--- a/java-1_8_0-openj9.spec
+++ b/java-1_8_0-openj9.spec
@@ -421,6 +421,9 @@ export CFLAGS="$EXTRA_CFLAGS"
 %endif
 
 bash configure \
+%ifarch %aarch64
+    --enable-OMR_ARCH_AARCH64 \
+%endif
     --disable-zip-debug-info \
     --with-milestone="fcs" \
     --with-update-version=%{updatever} \