About Us

founders 

Motohiro Wu Tanaka is a pioneer in the study abroad industry in Japan. Questioning his own decision to become a lifetime employee at a traditional Japanese corporation, he resigned from his company to pursue work in which he could make a personal impact on individuals. His pursuit led him to study in the United States and, upon his return to Japan in 1988, to enter the then-new field of study abroad education. Focusing on teaching young people to look critically at their futures and to dare pursue what is most meaningful to them, he has, since 1988, played an instrumental role in contributing to the development of Japan’s international education industry and the expansion of overseas educational opportunities for Japanese.

Motohiro has held positions at The Center for International and Cultural Studies (ICS), Sundai College of Foreign Languages, and The Princeton Review of Japan. His initiatives have included playing a key role in the opening of Canada as a study abroad destination for Japanese students; co-building Japan’s first counseling program for undergraduate applicants to American universities; and developing Japan’s first comprehensive counseling program for graduate school applicants. He was also one of the first nationally recognized 2-year and community college counselors in Japan. At The Princeton Review of Japan, he was the first recipient of the Founders Award for significant contributions to the growth of the company.

In addition to managing Reve and counseling, Moto works as a consultant to educational ventures. In 2005 he left the Executive MBA program at UCLA-National University of Singapore to establish SORA Ltd., the parent company of Reve Counseling.

Cecilia Wu Tanaka (Executive Director of Counseling) is a veteran graduate school admissions counselor and counselor trainer with 19 years’ experience working with Japanese applicants and 8 years working in higher education administration at Harvard University. At Harvard Medical School she oversaw the interview program and monitored yield projections and wait lists. She was later promoted to Assistant Director of Admissions at the Graduate School of Education where she became the first Asian-American to serve in this capacity. She was a voting member on several admissions committees and played an instrumental role in shaping admission policies, recruiting qualified candidates, and making admission decisions. She later also conducted admissions interviews in Tokyo for the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. In 1999 she earned one of 10 Administrative Fellowships university-wide for her potential in higher education leadership.

Cecilia later moved to Tokyo, Japan as one of two recipients of Wellesley College’s Stevens Traveling Fellowships. She gained reputation as one of the top counselors in Japan while working at The Princeton Review of Japan. As Director of the counseling program, she developed the industry’s first non-MBA division, revamped hiring procedures of counselors, and created the first training program and quality control system for counselors. As a result she won the President’s Award two years in a row at The Princeton Review of Japan. She has successfully worked with diverse clients in many of the major corporations and organizations in Japan including The Bank of Japan, The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, JICA, Mitsubishi Corporation, McKinsey Japan, Sumitomo Corporation, Sumitomi Mitsui Banking Corporation, the various Ministries, and many others. For nearly 20 years, the vast majority of her clients have come to her solely through word-of-mouth.

She holds a B.A. in English Literature from Wellesley College and a Master of Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.