Oriental always meant the Far East. I'm also not sure when or why it became disfavored as a term for people. It was actually a very good word because it was clear that it included East and Southeast Asians but not South Asians or West Asians. Say "Asian" in London and they'll think you're talking about someone from India or Pakistan.

On that note, I really don't like the US term "Middle East" because it implies that it's in between two other types of East, but in reality we use it to mean "Near East", which is what people in the UK say (more correctly).