diff --git a/crates/paimon-rest-server/src/lib.rs b/crates/paimon-rest-server/src/lib.rs
index 403b42203..7c95220de 100644
--- a/crates/paimon-rest-server/src/lib.rs
+++ b/crates/paimon-rest-server/src/lib.rs
@@ -189,35 +189,50 @@ fn build_router(prefix: &str, state: Arc<AppState>) -> Router {
 // The client reconstructs the original error solely from the HTTP status code
 // (see `crates/paimon/src/api/rest_error.rs`), so the code below MUST line the
 // status codes up with `RestError::from_error_response`.
+//
+// `resourceType` is part of the same contract for a *Java* client, which
+// dispatches on it: `RESTCatalog#alterTable` only raises
+// `TableNotExistException` when it equals `ErrorResponse.RESOURCE_TYPE_TABLE`,
+// and `StringUtils#equals` compares char by char, so the case has to match.
 // ============================================================================
 
+/// Mirrors Java `ErrorResponse.RESOURCE_TYPE_DATABASE`.
+const RESOURCE_TYPE_DATABASE: &str = "DATABASE";
+/// Mirrors Java `ErrorResponse.RESOURCE_TYPE_TABLE`.
+const RESOURCE_TYPE_TABLE: &str = "TABLE";
+
 fn error_response(e: Error) -> Response {
     let (status, resource_type, resource_name) = match &e {
         Error::DatabaseNotExist { database } => (
             StatusCode::NOT_FOUND,
-            Some("database".to_string()),
+            Some(RESOURCE_TYPE_DATABASE.to_string()),
             Some(database.clone()),
         ),
         Error::TableNotExist { full_name } => (
             StatusCode::NOT_FOUND,
-            Some("table".to_string()),
+            Some(RESOURCE_TYPE_TABLE.to_string()),
             Some(full_name.clone()),
         ),
         Error::DatabaseAlreadyExist { database } => (
             StatusCode::CONFLICT,
-            Some("database".to_string()),
+            Some(RESOURCE_TYPE_DATABASE.to_string()),
             Some(database.clone()),
         ),
         Error::TableAlreadyExist { full_name } => (
             StatusCode::CONFLICT,
-            Some("table".to_string()),
+            Some(RESOURCE_TYPE_TABLE.to_string()),
             Some(full_name.clone()),
         ),
         Error::DatabaseNotEmpty { database } => (
             StatusCode::CONFLICT,
-            Some("database".to_string()),
+            Some(RESOURCE_TYPE_DATABASE.to_string()),
             Some(database.clone()),
         ),
+        // `column:<table>` and 400 diverge from Java's `RESOURCE_TYPE_COLUMN`
+        // and 404/409, but correcting the status here would make the *Rust*
+        // client report a missing column as `TableNotExist`
+        // (`map_rest_error_for_table` ignores `resourceType`), so the two must
+        // move together in a separate change.
         Error::ColumnNotExist { full_name, column } => (
             StatusCode::BAD_REQUEST,
             Some(format!("column:{full_name}")),
@@ -565,3 +580,70 @@ async fn table_token_stub() -> Response {
 fn empty_audit() -> AuditRESTResponse {
     AuditRESTResponse::new(None, None, None, None, None)
 }
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+
+    async fn resource_type_of(error: Error) -> (StatusCode, Option<String>) {
+        let response = error_response(error);
+        let status = response.status();
+        let bytes = axum::body::to_bytes(response.into_body(), usize::MAX)
+            .await
+            .expect("read body");
+        let json: serde_json::Value = serde_json::from_slice(&bytes).expect("parse body");
+        let resource_type = json
+            .get("resourceType")
+            .and_then(|value| value.as_str())
+            .map(str::to_string);
+        (status, resource_type)
+    }
+
+    /// A Java client keys off `resourceType` and compares it case-sensitively, so
+    /// these are wire values, not free-form labels.
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn database_and_table_errors_use_javas_uppercase_resource_type() {
+        for (error, expected_status, expected_type) in [
+            (
+                Error::DatabaseNotExist {
+                    database: "db".to_string(),
+                },
+                StatusCode::NOT_FOUND,
+                "DATABASE",
+            ),
+            (
+                Error::TableNotExist {
+                    full_name: "db.t".to_string(),
+                },
+                StatusCode::NOT_FOUND,
+                "TABLE",
+            ),
+            (
+                Error::DatabaseAlreadyExist {
+                    database: "db".to_string(),
+                },
+                StatusCode::CONFLICT,
+                "DATABASE",
+            ),
+            (
+                Error::TableAlreadyExist {
+                    full_name: "db.t".to_string(),
+                },
+                StatusCode::CONFLICT,
+                "TABLE",
+            ),
+            (
+                Error::DatabaseNotEmpty {
+                    database: "db".to_string(),
+                },
+                StatusCode::CONFLICT,
+                "DATABASE",
+            ),
+        ] {
+            let label = expected_type;
+            let (status, resource_type) = resource_type_of(error).await;
+            assert_eq!(status, expected_status, "{label}");
+            assert_eq!(resource_type.as_deref(), Some(expected_type), "{label}");
+        }
+    }
+}