Well only 15% and 4.5% of adults are obese in the Netherlands and Japan, respectively. Nearly 50% in the US are. I don't see any reason why the few design differences between a classic American hybrid or road bike and either of the types you mention would drastically affect their weight capacity, but it's also just much less of an issue in those countries.

Those bikes are often steel, and likely could support more weight, but not by much. Wheels and tires have their limits too. I wouldn't consider anything but a custom bike or higher-end steel touring bike if I weighed more than 250lbs.

Generally 120 or 150 kg judging from Sparta and Gazelle materials. That’s about the same as in the article.

Now, our weight distribution is a bit less extreme than in the US, But there are definitely commuters using their bike outside the manufacturer specifications out there right now.

To say nothing of toddler moms.

mamachari

I picked a random bike on their website and it had the exact same problem the article is about: it doesn't list a maximum weight for the rider.

I guess this is one situation of privilege I and a lot of lightweight people experience: Of course the bike will support my weight, I don't even have to check. Meanwhile people over 200 pounds are told to import bikes and 300+ people don't even get any certainty that an import will support them.