While both Japan and Sweden are regarded as exceptionalist states, their exceptionalism differs in many ways. Japanese exceptionalism is based on homogeneity and Swedish exceptionalism underlines equality and multiculturalism. Interestingly, their representations in literature do not fully translate to the way the two states represent themselves in their foreign policy statements in regards to refugees. This thesis aims to answer the following question: What role does exceptionalist state identity play in the construction of refugee policies of Japan and Sweden? The central purpose of this thesis revolves around examining the role exceptionalist state identity plays in refugee policy construction, additionally uncovering motivators for Japan and Sweden employing their exceptionalist identities in this context. In order to analyse statements made by the Japanese and Swedish foreign affairs representative publications between 2018 and 2020 this comparative study employs content analysis with the use of Wendts’ constructivist framework, focusing on the concept of identity within a Kantian culture of anarchy. The thesis establishes that Swedish exceptionalist identity provides certain leverage by Sweden actively participating in humanitarian discourse. Japan, on the other hand, represses certain exceptionalist representations in order to fit into the normative framework of the United Nations.