var preload = new Array('images/navigation/home_on.gif', 'images/navigation/news_on.gif', 'images/navigation/bio_on.gif', 'images/navigation/japanese_on.gif', 'images/navigation/western_on.gif', 'images/navigation/misc_on.gif', 'images/navigation/contact_on.gif', 'images/navigation/links_on.gif');

var loader = new Array();
for(var i = 0; i < preload.length; i++){
   loader[i] = new Image();
   loader[i].src = preload[i];
}