Listening to an Iranian official describe his region as “West Asia” got me wondering if the word “Middle East” is on the outs and why. I suspect Middle East is eurocentric for some reason, but West Asia also preserves Europe as a continent, which is Eurocentric in its own way because Europe is not a continent and never was. If we’re calling anything West Asia, it should be Spain and Portugal.
That’s not where the name comes from. It comes from the distinction of the “far east” (China, Japan, etc) vs. the “middle east” or the “near east.” Which is why many people think it’s Eurocentric, it literally treates Europe as the center.
The prime meridian runs through western Europe. Most of Europe would be in the near East, relative to that point. China is on the far east of the hemisphere. They are fair labels based on their position to the prime meridian.