China invited both leaders to take part in a ceremony dedicated to the anniversary, which will take place in Beijing on September 3.
"If [Japanese] Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visits China, he will be in Beijing at the same time as [the Russian] president. The possibility of top level meeting between the leaders of Russia and Japan exists," the Japanese Mainichi newspaper said.
Mainichi said that Abe would not take part in the ceremony, but the Japanese side is discussing Abe's visit to hold talks on the current tense bilateral relations with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Earlier, Russia and Japan expressed intention to hold top level meeting and to discuss bilateral cooperation. The last time Putin and Abe met on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Beijing in 2014.