The purpose of this study is to explore the influence of the word familiarity of the Japanese learners in Taiwan on how they process Japanese kanji-words, and whether this influence is different for learners of different Japanese vocabulary competence. The research results of this study are summarized below. At first, the cognition of Japanese-kanji words is influenced by learners' familiarity with those words. The influence IS larger for learners of rather low Japanese vocabulary competence. These learners can process highly familiar words much faster and more correctly than unfamiliar words. Secondly, the Japanese vocabulary competence of the Japanese learners in Taiwan can only influence their cognitive processing of Japanese kanji-words which they are not familiar with. The results above show the importance of putting emphases on learning Japanese kanji-words in Japanese education.