TOKYO, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei stock average rose 1.3 percent on Thursday, with exporters such as Honda Motor Co up on growing optimism about the U.S. economy that helped pushed the Dow above 10,000 for the first time in a year. Mitsubishi Corp gained 2 percent after the trading house said it and Medipal Holdings, a pharmaceutical wholesaler, plan to enter the drug wholesale market in China by tying up with Sinopharm Group, China's largest drug distributor.
The benchmark Nikkei rose 125.36 points to 10,185.57, while the broader Topix rose 1.1 percent to 904.23. (Reporting by Elaine Lies)