TOKYO, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Navy's nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the USS Ronald Reagan, called at southern Japan's Sasebo port in Nagasaki Prefecture on Saturday morning amid local protests.

　　A labor organization rallied some 20 fishing boats in waters near the port, showing banners reading "no entry for U.S. aircraft carrier." About 100 civilians staged a protest at a site overlooking the port.

　　The 102,000-ton carrier, the latest-model of the U.S. Navy's Nimitz-class carrier, left its home port in San Diego in late January and is to stay at Sasebo port for five days to provide rest and replenish supplies for its more than 5,000 crewmen, Kyodo News said.

　　It was the first time for the aircraft carrier to call at a Japanese port.

　　U.S. commanders of the aircraft carrier described the port call as a promotion of exchanges with local residents and a demonstration of the United States' commitment to protect Japan.

　　The aircraft carrier will operate in the western Pacific on standby after leaving Sasebo, reports said.

　　The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Mustin, which is equipped with the most advanced Aegis missile guidance system, will also make a call at southern Japan's Nagasaki Port in early March.

　　The Nagasaki prefectural and city governments opposed the plan, saying the port call will stir concerns and complex feelings among atomic-bomb victims and citizens of the bomb site.