Dialect quirk. In the United States "Asian" refers exclusively to East Asian people - Japanese, Chinese, Korean, etc, and does not include Indians, Pakistanis,

Dialect quirk. In the United States "Asian" refers exclusively to East Asian people - Japanese, Chinese, Korean, etc, and does not include Indians, Pakistanis, Russians, or anyone else on the continent. My understanding is that in British English "Asian" can include Indians and others from around there. I don't know if Russians are included, though.