Why a Japanese entrepreneur sees India as the bridge between rival worlds

If looked through a geopolitical lens, the world’s attention is currently fixated on New Delhi. India hosted the 18th BRICS Summit on September 12–13, bringing world leaders under one roof, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Globally, the gathering of these heavyweight leaders is often framed as a contest between BRICS and the G7, two blocs increasingly seen as representing competing visions of the global economic and geopolitical order. 

But for Naotaka Nishiyama, a Japanese entrepreneur living and building businesses in India, the significance of the gathering looks somewhat different.

“Living on the ground in India offers a unique, firsthand perspective on global geopolitics that rarely makes the headlines in Japan or the West, where the narrative remains heavily centered around the G7,” he wrote on LinkedIn. 

He also points out that the macroeconomic picture points to a clear shift in global influence. In 2026, BRICS economies are projected to grow at roughly 3.1%–3.7%, compared with around 1% for the G7. 

BRICS also represents nearly 50% of the world’s population, compared with about 10% for the G7. On a purchasing-power-parity basis, BRICS accounts for roughly 40% of global GDP, while the G7 represents around 28%. 

For Nishiyama, India sits at the centre of this transition. Its significance extends well beyond its role as host of the BRICS summit. He argues–the global economy no longer revolves around a single traditional bloc and India at the heart of this broader shift, not merely as a participant, but as an increasingly pivotal global leader.

Why India is pivotal to BRICS

What makes India particularly important is its ability to engage with competing centres of power without becoming fully aligned with any one of them. 

“India is not playing defense; it is shaping the agenda. It ensures BRICS remains a constructive, development-focused platform for the Global South, acting as the ultimate global stabiliser and strategic anchor,” Nishiyama wrote.

For China and Russia, predominantly, BRICS could be a counterweight to Western influence, however, India brings in the balancing act. 

Recently, India also signed a $500 billion trade deal with the US, a founding G7 member and a deep strategic rival of BRICS member China and Russia. India is also a member of the Quad with the US, Japan and Australia, which interestingly, is sometimes seen as a counter measure to China’s growing trade and military dominance in the Asia-Pacific region.

Yet, rather than turning BRICS into an anti-Western bloc, India has used its position to push a more development-focused agenda. At the same time, building on its policy of strategic autonomy, New Delhi has underscored the importance of maintaining strategic and economic ties across competing centres of power.

Why paying attention to India is important

At the BRICS summit, AI has emerged as one of the more consequential areas of cooperation under India’s chairmanship. The New Delhi

Declaration, which was unanimously adopted on September 12, recognises

AI as a major driver of economic growth and sustainable development. 

It calls for greater access to AI resources and cooperation on safety, security, reliability and energy efficiency—at a time when Western governments and technology companies are increasingly debating restrictions around access to the most advanced frontier AI models.

Nishiyama, who is the founder and CEO of global HR technology company Talendy, also opines that global businesses need to pay closer attention to India.

“Navigating complex geopolitics through confident multi-alignment, India is demonstrating what true modern leadership looks like,” he adds.