Can AI Relieve “Emotional Pain” That Medication Can’t Cure? The “Compelling Reason” Behind a Long-Established Pharmaceutical Company’s Move into AI Career Support

A survey of 1,200 working women found that about 30% “consult AI about their career concerns.”These survey results were released by SS Pharmaceutical (Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo), known for its fever-reducing and pain-relieving medications. The company has even launched its own “chat-based career counseling service powered by AI.” Why has a pharmaceutical company ventured into technology-driven career support rather than focusing on its core business of “selling medicine”?

“We have a brand of fever-reducing and pain-relieving medications called EVE, which is primarily targeted at women. Driven by our desire to relieve women not only from physical pain, such as headaches and menstrual cramps, but also from the emotional pain they experience, we launched the ‘BeliEVE PROJECT,’”

So says Rie Hirakawa, who is in charge of this project.

EVE was launched in 1985—the very year the Act on Equal Employment Opportunity for Men and Women was enacted. It was a medication born at a time when women were beginning to enter the workforce. Over the past 40 years, the company has expanded its product lineup and continued to address women’s physical pain.As a form of support for emotional pain, development began in July 2025 on “BeliEVE Mentors,” a service that uses proprietary AI and a chat format to provide counseling for career-related concerns.

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However, women have been consulting AI about their concerns for some time now. So what sets this service apart from existing AI offerings?

“Existing AI tends to simply affirm what the user says, but it has been difficult to gain advice or insights based on real-life experiences. For this service, we ‘fleshed out’ the AI with real stories from working women to create a conversational experience that offers insights through advice grounded in real-life experiences.”

To “flesh out” the AI, SS Pharmaceutical conducted a large-scale survey as well as interviews with women across various industries. Based on this data, they analyzed values and other factors to create six distinct female AI mentors, each representing different ages, values, and job types.

The character profiles are specific: Mai Yura, a 31-year-old working in the marketing department of an education company; Ai Kujo, a 33-year-old at a web publishing company; and Yui Higuchi, a 35-year-old at a real estate firm who has two children. There’s a reason they’re all set in their early to mid-30s.

“As we conducted our research, we discovered that women face a ‘10-year work experience’ barrier. At this age, many women get married or have children, struggle to balance work and family life, and end up giving up on their careers.”  

Users can consult with AI mentors via chat on LINE. On the special website, in addition to their self-introductions, their values are also presented through manga, so users can simply choose a mentor whose perspective they’d like to hear from and seek advice.

Free for 24 hours! What’s the company’s goal?

That said, if they’re using people’s real-life experiences, wouldn’t it make more sense to consult a real person rather than an AI?

“Work environments vary greatly. Many women find themselves in situations where their superiors are predominantly male, making it difficult to seek advice even when they want to.There are still workplaces with little understanding of women’s participation in the workforce, and in fact, we hear reports that women who switch to reduced-hour schedules for childcare are treated as a burden. With AI, I think people can feel free to ask any question—including the honest thoughts they could never share with a real-life supervisor.”

Available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Ms. Hirakawa herself is a working mom with one child, and she says she struggles to balance work and family life.

“I tried asking for advice on how to make time for myself. Since you can choose as many AI mentors as you want, I asked the same question to all of them. Among the responses was this advice: ‘Why not try to carve out even just 15 minutes to relax before you go pick up your child?’ I thought, ‘I might be able to manage 15 minutes,’ so I decided to give it a try.”  

While this is a welcome service for women, it’s free to use. So where does the benefit lie for the company?

“As EVE’s brand message states, ‘Pain, go away,’ our wish is to free people not only from physical pain but also from all the pain that lies dormant in society. We also hope this initiative will help us differentiate ourselves from other companies.”

In other words, it’s also a sophisticated PR strategy aimed at boosting loyalty to the brand and securing future customers.

Launched in March, the service currently has about 5,000 users. The goal is to reach 280,000 users by 2030. Hopefully, by then, there will be fewer consultations about difficulties in the workplace due to being a woman.