diff --git a/project/plugins.sbt b/project/plugins.sbt
index fdd0d207a..7974aa440 100644
--- a/project/plugins.sbt
+++ b/project/plugins.sbt
@@ -1,3 +1,10 @@
 addSbtPlugin("org.scala-lang.modules" % "sbt-scala-module" % "1.0.14")
 
+if (System.getProperty("java.version").startsWith("1."))
+  Seq()
+else
+  // override to version that works on Java 9,
+  // see https://github.com/scala/sbt-scala-module/issues/35
+  Seq(addSbtPlugin("com.typesafe.sbt" % "sbt-osgi" % "0.9.3"))
+
 addSbtPlugin("org.scala-js" % "sbt-scalajs" % "0.6.22")