This is probably because the RAM is internal to the FPGA:
> A complete J1 with 16Kbytes of RAM fits easily on a small Xilinx FPGA.
I'd guess the CPU itself would easily fit into an iCE40 (given that RISC-Vs are fitting and the J1 should be simpler) with the RAM external. Several of the iCE40 boards have external RAMs
[1] https://www.excamera.com/sphinx/article-j1a-swapforth.html
[2] https://youtube.com/watch?v=rdLgLCIDSk0