diff --git a/java/api/src/main/java/org/ray/api/Ray.java b/java/api/src/main/java/org/ray/api/Ray.java
index 053f01d55..7e252274e 100644
--- a/java/api/src/main/java/org/ray/api/Ray.java
+++ b/java/api/src/main/java/org/ray/api/Ray.java
@@ -41,7 +41,10 @@ public final class Ray extends RayCall {
    * Shutdown Ray runtime.
    */
   public static void shutdown() {
-    runtime.shutdown();
+    if (runtime != null) {
+      runtime.shutdown();
+      runtime = null;
+    }
   }
 
   /**