Reiko Lewis was born and raised in Tokyo, Japan. Her parents brought her up to be independent, and at just three years old she was going unaccompanied to see her family doctor. She is a born leader and problem solver. At the age of 10, she made up her mind to be in TV journalism and studied international politics and economy in college. She was later hired by CNN’s Tokyo bureau chief, John Lewis (who would later become her husband) to be as an assistant producer. John was a start-up member of CNN’s Asia division, and helped to establish all Asian CNN bureaus.