Why can outer Java classes access inner class private members?

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I observed that Outer classes can access inner classes private instance variables. How is this possible? Here is a sample code demonstrating the same:

class ABC{
    class XYZ{
        private int x=10;
    }

    public static void main(String... args){
        ABC.XYZ xx = new ABC().new XYZ();
        System.out.println("Hello :: "+xx.x); ///Why is this allowed??
    }
}

Why is this behavior allowed?

inner-classes private-members private class java
10 Answers

Inner class is regarded as an attribute of the Outer class. Therefore, no matter the Inner class instance variable is private or not, Outer class can access without any problem just like accessing its other private attributes(variables).

class Outer{

private int a;

class Inner{
private int b=0;
}

void outMethod(){
a = new Inner().b;
}
}
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