KRT CALIFORNIA STORY SLUGGED: CA-LANGUAGES KRT PHOTO BY PENNY DE LOS SANTOS/SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS (KRTC101 - October 21) High school students Mindy Ly, left, Brandon Bodily and Amber Vaughn-McGee translate Japanese characters into English. Although Spanish is still the top foreign language taught in California schools, languages from the Pacific rim nations is increasing as more Asians migrate to the area and some see it as an advantage to high-tech jobs in the future. (SJ) PL KD 1999 (Horiz) (gsb) --