diff --git a/icu4j/main/classes/core/src/com/ibm/icu/text/Edits.java b/icu4j/main/classes/core/src/com/ibm/icu/text/Edits.java
index 1e992f7fa16..b97d54f0079 100644
--- a/icu4j/main/classes/core/src/com/ibm/icu/text/Edits.java
+++ b/icu4j/main/classes/core/src/com/ibm/icu/text/Edits.java
@@ -820,11 +820,9 @@ public final class Edits {
 
         /**
          * A string representation of the current edit represented by the iterator for debugging. You
-         * should not depend on the contents of the return string.
+         * should not depend on the contents of the return string; it may change over time.
          * @internal
-         * @deprecated This API is ICU internal only.
          */
-        @Deprecated
         @Override
         public String toString() {
             StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder();