But if the market in Japan is insensitive to prices the international market is not.

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So maybe it should just have to live with a government customer that is insensitive to the broader economic consequences of enforcing tough contract terms.

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"This latest move shows he is price insensitive and wants to take control of the business, " the co-founder of Seven Investment Management told BBC Sport.

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However, for those of us who have come in direct contact with the parents who have lost their children to violence and bullying, or the young people who have been severely abused by or forced out of their families, this is grossly insensitive and nothing to laugh about.

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Even Ms Merkel is not insensitive: were she to become chancellor in 2006, she would not jump off the train after the negotiations have begun.

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Veterinarians say the bird lacks a gag reflex and their esophagus is lined with collagen, which makes it insensitive to pain.

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But the truth is that Air France did not want to appear insensitive, pushing for a return of the aircraft, after the horrendous accident which happened when one of its aircraft caught fire on take-off from Charles de Gaulle Airport.

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Whatever way he meant it, "autistic" is often used as an insult and it's insensitive to use a term that describes a disability or a condition in this way, says the National Autistic Society.

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Paul Heaton of Deutsche Securities believes they will eventually have to cut their rates to gain market share, since there is growing evidence that cheaper loans are at last beginning to attract Japan's hitherto price-insensitive consumers.

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