We examine the patterns and determinants of corporate payout policy in three countries-Korea, Japan and the U.S.-over the period 1996-2005. We find that share repurchases are the more popular payout method than dividends in the U.S.. The use of share repurchases is relatively low in Korea and Japan, but is on the increase in these two countries over the sample period. Our data show that many Korean firms use share repurchases, either solely or in conjunction with dividends, to distribute cash to shareholders. However, it appears that Korean firms use share repurchases more flexibly than do U.S. and Japanese firms. For example, the majority of share repurchases are a one-time event in Korea., while relatively many U.S. and Japanese firms continue to repurchase shares year after year. According to our Tobit regression results, firm size is significantly associated with the amount of share repurchases in all three countries. However, firm size is negatively associated with share repurchases in Japan, but positively associated in Korea and the U.S. Our results suggest the presence of country-specific institutional factors that affect firms` decision on share repurchases differently across countries.