In which cases should a static method with synchronization be used in Java?

A static method with synchronization in Java should be used when you need to ensure thread-safe access to shared resources related to the class, rather than a specific instance. For example, if a method modifies or reads static variables that may be accessed by multiple threads simultaneously, synchronization will prevent race conditions.

Synchronizing a static method locks the class monitor (Class object), not a specific instance, so all calls to this method from different threads will be executed sequentially.

Example:

public class Counter {
    private static int count = 0;

    public static synchronized void increment() {
        count++;
    }

    public static synchronized int getCount() {
        return count;
    }
}

Here, synchronization is necessary to prevent multiple threads from modifying the count variable simultaneously.